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X 




ELPIS ISRAEL 



AN EXPOSITION 



KINGDOM OF GOD 



WITH REFERENCE TO 



THE TIME OF THE END, 



THE AGE TO COME, 



BY JOHN THOMAS, M.D. 
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For the hope of Israel I am oound with thi^ chain." — Paul 






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THIRD EDITION. 






PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR, 

Mott Haven, Westchester Co., N. Y. 
1859. 








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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1859, by 

JOHN THOMAS, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District o( New York. 



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>> CONTENTS: 



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THE RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

Chap. I.— The necessity of a Revelation to make known the origin, reason, and 
tendency of things in relation to man and the world around him. It is an 
intelligible mystery, and the only source of true wisdom ; bnt which is prac- 
tically repudiated by the Moderns.— The study of the Bible urged, to facili- 
tate and promote which is the obj ect of this volume I 

Chap. II. — The earth before the creation of Adam the habitation of the angels who 
kept not their first estate— A geological error corrected — The Sabbath day 
and the Lord's day— The formation of man and woman — The " great mys- 
tery '' of her formation out of man explained — Eden — The garden of Eden 
— The original and future paradises considered — Man's primitive dominion 
confined to the inferior creatures and his own immediate family — Of the two 
trees of the garden — And man in his original estate 8 

Chap. III. — Probation before exaltation, the law of the moral universe of God — 
The temptation of the Lord Jesus by Satan, the trial of his faith by the 
Father — The Temptation explained— God's foreknowledge does not necessi- 
tate ; nor does he justify, or condemn, by anticipation — The Serpent an 
intellectual animal, but not a moral agent, nor inspired — He deceives the 
woman — The nature of the transgression — Eve becomes the tempter to Adam 
— The transgression consummated in the conception of Cain — A good con- 
science, and an evil conscience, defined — Man cannot cover his own sin — 
The carnal mind illustrated by the reasoning of the Serpent — It is metapho- 
rically the Serpent in the flesh — God's truth the only rule of right and wrong 
— The Serpent in the flesh is manifested in the wickedness of individuals ; 
and in the spiritual and temporal institutions of the world — Serpent-sin in 
the flesh identified with "the Wicked One "—The Prince of the World— 
The Kingdom of Satan and the World identical — The Wiles of the Devil— 
The " Prince" shown to be sin, working and reigning in all sinners — How 
he was ''cast out" by Jesus — "The works of the Devil" — "Bound of 
Satan ;" delivering to Satan— The Great Dragon — The Dtvd and Satan — 
The Man of Sin 66 

CHAP. IV. — The trial of the Transgressors— Of the Literal and the Allegorical — 
The sentence upon the Serpent particularized — The " Peace and Safety " cry 
— Jesus came not to send peace, but a sword — The Peace Society the enemy 
of God — Cain, Abel, and Seth — Atheism defined — Cain rejected as the 
progenitor of the Woman's Seed, and Seth appointed — The Antediluvian 
apostasy — The Cainites and Sethites distinct societies — Their union the ruin 
of the old world, of which eight sons of Sdh only survive — The Foundation 
of the World — The sentence upon Woman — Her social position defined — 
The sentence upon Adam — The constitution of sin — Of sin as a physical 
quality of the flesh — Of the hereditary nature of Jesus— Of " f original sin " 
— Men, sinners in a two-fold sense— The Constitution of Righteousness — 
Men become saints by adoption — The Three Witnesses— The "new birth" 
explained — The Two Principles — Of "the light within" — The scripture 
revelation the divine principle of illumination —The awful condition of "the 
church"— Of the Hidden Man of the heart 9G 



IV. CONTENTS. 

Chap. V. — Immortality in the present state a positive evil — Immortality in misery 
unscnptural — The professing world religious from fear— The world's religions 
useful as a system of Ecclesiastical Police— The Religion of Christ destitute 
of all worldly goods till his return, when it will possess all things — The doc- 
trine of immortality a divine revelation — The Heathens baffled in their 
endeavors to discover it — I he Mosaic Cherubim God's throne in Israel — 
The Cherubim of Ezekiel and John — The Cherubic Veil — The Faces of the 
Lord — The Flaming Sword — Illustrated by Ezekiel's description of the 
glory of the God of Israel — The brightness of the Spiritual Body— The Way 
of the Tree of Life — The etymology of the word religion — False religion 
based upon the idea of appeasing the wrath of God — God already reconciled 
to the world— The " Word of Reconciliation " committed to the apostles in 
the beginning — The apostles the only ambassadors cf Christ — "The word'' 
preached by the apostles intrusted to the disciples of Christ — " Clergy" and 
" Laity " distinctions of the apostasy— Religion defined — Its grand deside- 
ratum—No true religion without belief of the truth — The word "faith" 
scripturally defined — How faith comes — The " religious world " infidel of 
" the faith " — " Love " scripturally defined by " obedience" — The religious 
world destitute of the Spirit of God— Religion contemporary only with sin 
—Summary of principles 128 

Chap. VI. — God the builder of all things— Nothing accidental, but all things the 
result of divine premeditation — Whatever exists he created for his own plea- 
sure and glory — The purpose of God in the work of creation and providence, 
revealed in the scriptures — The present order of things merely provisional — 
The economy of the fulness of appointed times the true " Intermediate 
State " of a thousand years' duration — The tower of Babel builders, peace- 
men, and socialists — The principle upon which men attain to the angelic 
nature, and dignity, defined— God's two-fold purpose in the foundation 
of the world stated — The means by which it is accomplishing — Dissertation 
on the Elohim 150 



$att Second 

THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD, AND THE NAME OF 
JESUS CHRIST. 

Chap. I. — The truth indicated— None but the believers of the truth can inherit 
the Kingdom of God — Abraham, "the Heir of the World'' — To inherit 
with him, men must believe what he believed; and become his children by 
adoption through Jesus Christ — The gospel and the things of the Kingdom 
one and the same — It was preached to Abraham, Israel, and the Gentiles, by 
the Lord God, by Moses, by Jesus, and by the Apostles— Gospel things sus- 
ceptible of a threefold classification— The Keys of the Kingdom — Intrusted 
only to Peter— The Mystery of the Kingdom — The Fellowship of the 
Mystery — "Apostolic Succession" — Qualifications of an apostle of Christ 
— Import of the phrase "the end of the world"— "The sign" of its 
approach— The gospel preached to every creature by the Apostles — Modern 
missionaryism inadequate to the end proposed 168 

Chap. II. — Five points of prophetic testimony— The general elements of a kingdom 
constituents of the kingdom of Christ — The promise made of God to the 
fatheri, the hope of Israel, and the gospel, the same — Who the fathers are — 
Abram originally from Babel, and an idolator — The Lord preaches the gospel 
to him in Mesopotamia— He believes it, and emigrates westward in conse 
quence — Becomes a wanderer in the land of Canaan, which is promised to 
him and Christ for ever— His faith counted to him for righteousness— Tho 
pr'omise of a resurrection to eternal life— Confirmation of the covenant 
of promise— The extent of the land defined in the Will — The personal re- 



CONTENTS. V. 

appearance of Christ necessitated by the nature of things — The phrases "in 
thee," " in him," and " in thy seed," explained — The nations God's people 
in no sense — Abraham, Christ, and the saints, "heirs of the world "—The 
token of the covenant — The signification of circumcision — Modern Israel 
Tinder the curse of the law — Circumcision of the heart — The Allegory— The 
two seeds — Parable of the Seed — Summary of Abraham's faith 195 

Chat. III. — The gospel preached to Isaac— The election of Jacob — The scripture 
doctrine of election — Not according to popular tradition — How men are 
elected, and how they may know it— Esau hated — Vision of Jacob's Ladder 
— Jacob's care for his body after death — Joseph's anxiety about his bones — 
Jacob's prophecy of the Last Days — Summary of "the faith" a-t Joseph's 
death — Things established— Chronology of the Age before the Law 233 

Chap. IV.— State of Egypt and Israel before the exodus — The time of the promises 
arrives — Call of Moses— God's everlasting memorial— Moses is sent to Israel 
— He is accepted as a ruler and deliverer — He declares glad tidings to thein ; 
but they refuse to listen— The Exodus — Israel baptized into Moses — The song 
of victory — They are fed with angel's food — The Lord's passover — How to 
be fulfilled in the kingdom of God — The Lord's supper — The Twelve Tribes 
constituted the kingdom of God — The gospel preached to Israel — They reject 
it — Of the Rest — The Royal House of the kingdom — " The sure mercies 
of David"— The kingdom and throne of David — David's kingdom also God's 
kingdom under its first constitution — Chronology to the captivity 254 

Chap. V. — Israel unable to redeem themselves ; and the nations equally powerless 
to their own regeneration — The reconstruction of the social fabric the work 
of Omnipotence by the hand of the Lord Jesus at his approaching manifes- 
tation—He will re-establish the kingdom and throne of David- The priest- 
hood of Shiloh— The Ezekiel temple to be built by Christ— Of the Namo 
of Jesus — Of repentance, remission of sins, and eternal life— Death-bed, and 
gaol, repentance 275 



THE KfNGDOMS OF THE WORLD IN THEIR RELATION TO THE 
KINGDOM OF GOD 

Chap. I. — The pandemonianism of the world — The Press, its organs to a great 
extent— Its conductors greatly deficient in political prevision — A divine 
agency the real source of the world's revolutions— God hath revealed what 
shall come to pass — Nebuchadnezzar's Image explained— It represents an 
Autocracy to be manifested in these Latter Days— The Toe-kingdoms enu- 
merated The Vision of the Four Beasts— Of the Saints and the two 
Witnesses 287 

Chap. IT.— The Sin-power in its war against the seed of the woman in the west, 
symbolized by the Beasts and their Image— God will surely avenge his saints 
— The crimes for which the nations are being judged, stated — The geography 
of the " Lake of Fire" where the judgment sits— The saints the executioners 
of the Little Horn— They are raised from political death for this purpose — 
Events connected with their resurrection — The three days and a half of their 
unburied state, explained— Their ascension — End of 1260 years— Of the time 
of the Beast— Diagram— Of the 1335 years 314 



▼1 CONTENTS. 

"hap. III.™ Doings of the Witnesses when invested with power — They execute 
justice on their enemies— A great earthquake — The seventh Irurnpet— 
Divided into seven vial-periods— The third, fourth, and fifth, vials, and 
Napoleon— England and the second vial — Turkey and the sixth vial — All 
Europe and the seventh vial — The prophecy of the Frogs explained— The 
mission of the unclean spirits — Their operation the sign of Christ's stealthy 
and sudden return — The great desideratum in view of the Advent 325 

CliAP. IV. — The vision and prophecy of the East— Of the Earn and the Unicorn— 
The Four Horns of the Goat— Of the fifth, or Little, Horn— Of the Seventy 
Weeks — Of the 1290 years — Summary of the eleventh of Daniel — Para- 
phrase of the first thirty-five verses of Dan. xi.— Of the king and the strange 
god — Mahuzzim-Bazaars 349 

Chap. V. — It is impossible that the Holy Land can be for ever subject to the Gentiles 
— It is to be wrested from them at the expiry of " the time of the end" — 
Of Daniel's 2300 days — Diagram of Daniel's times — Of the beginning of 
" the time of the end "—Of the king of the south at that time— The Autocrat 
of Russia the king of the north at " the time of the end " — England and the 
Jews — Of Gogue and Magogue — Ezekiel's and John's two different and 
remote confederacies— Daniel's king of the north of " the time of the end," 
and Gogue of " the latter days," the same— The Gogue of Ezekiel proved to 
be Emperor of Germany and Autocrat of all the Russias — Gomer and the 
French — Sheba, Dedan, the Merchants of Tarshish and its young lions, 
identified as the British power 370 

Chap. VI.. .The restoration of Israel indispensable to the setting up of the king- 
dom of God — Israel to be grafted into their own olive on a principle of 
faith— Not by gentile agency, but by Jesus Christ, will God graft them in 
again — Britain, the protector of the Jews, as indicated by Isaiah xviii. — 
The British power in the south, the Moab &c , of " the latter days" — The 
second exodus of Israel — The nations of the Image to be subdued by Israel to 
the dominion of their king — The New Covenant delivered to Judah, and the 
kingdom of God set up in Judea— The returning of the Ten Tribes to Canaan 
will occupy forty years — Elijah's mission — Israel re-assembled in Egypt — 
They cross the Nile, and pass through the Red s^ea, on foot — I hey march into 
Canaan, receive the New Covenant, and, re-united to Judah, form one 
nation and kingdom under Christ for 1,000 years— The blessedness of the 
nations, and their loyalty to Israel's king — Of the end of the thousand years — 
Chronology from the Creation to the end of the Melchizedek Kingdom. . .392 



DIAGRAMS AND TABLES. 



1 . Diagram of the Times of the Apocalypse page 323 



2. Diagram of the Frogs of Rev. xvi. 13 

3. Diagram of Daniel's Times 

1. Chronological Table to the Exodus from Egypt 

2. Chronological Table to the Captivity 

3. Chronological Table to the end of the Melchizedek Kingdom. . 



339 
373 
253 
274 
410 



PREFACE TO THE LONDON EDITION. 



The year 1848 lias been well and truly styled the "Annus 
Mirabilis," or Wonderful Year. So, indeed, it proved itself to 
Europe ; for, though this division of the globe was overspread 
with numerous large, well-appointed, and highly-disciplined 
armies, maintained to uphold what remained of the work of 
the Congress of Vienna in 1815, and to prevent the rising of 
the people against their destroyers, yet did the wild and ill- 
armed Democracy of Europe break their bonds asunder as a 
rotten thread, and shake its kingdoms to their foundations. The 
mercenaries joined the people by thousands ; and princes, 
priests, and kings, trembled in their presence, or fled before 
them in the nakedness of detected felons. The events of this 
celebrated year are a memento to the world, that confusion is 
the lot of those who put their trust in princes, and place their 
confidence in an arm of flesh, Its wisdom is folly, and its 
power weakness before God, who withers up all its glory if he 
but breathe upon it. 1 The combined power of the governments 
is insufficient for the preservation of " order" for a single day. 
It is true they grasp the sword and command the thunderbolts 
of war, but their use of them is controlled by the will of God. 
He has decreed the persistence of " the powers that he" and 
of the " order" which they represent, for 1260 years, so that 
they cannot be abolished either by the suicidal stupidity and 
folly of the " collective wisdoms" of the governments, or by 
the socialist excesses of the million. Man wills, and Jehovah 
wills ; and the antagonism of these two wills it is, which shapes 
the course of things to their divinely appointed end. The will 
of man universal is the result of conflicts between the individ- 
uals of his race. Were human factions left to work out their 
own ends uncontrolled by the divine will, the world would be 
filled with violence by their wickedness, and the righteous 
would perish from the earth. This came to pass before the 
Flood, and would happen again if mankind were abandoned of 
God ; for human nature is the same in all ages of the world. 
That things, then, are not now as in the days of Noah, is proof 
positive that God is at work among the nations. If he were 

1 Isaiah xi. 4. 



Vlll PKEFACE TO THE LONDON EDITION 

not, 1848 would have seen the end of the ruling-craft. Noth- 
ing prolonged the ascendancy of superstition and tyranny, as 
at present constituted, but the restraint imposed by Him. His 
purpose is not to substitute the anarchy of wild beasts for the 
prevailing "order," however odious and outrageous of human 
rights; but, "in the fulness of the times appointed," Ho sub- 
ject the Democracy and its oppressors to a New Order of things, 
in which righteousness shall reign. The year 1849 equally 
illustrates the working of His controlling power ; for if Eussia 
and Austria had been unrestrained, their triumph over the De- 
mocracy would have been exterminating. But they cannot do 
all their will ; for reaction as well as action proceeds from God. 
They are the alternations of his will for the promotion of u that 
that is determined"* which will be found to be far more wonder- 
ful in its future development than the wonders of these years 
that are passed away. 

Great excitement was produced in the United States by the 
news of what was going on in Europe. Many who had for 
years before been predicting " the end of all things," were now 
persuaded it had come at last. Others came to a different con- 
clusion, and rejoiced in the supposition that the kingdoms of 
the world were about to become republics after the model of 
the United States. Both these imaginations, however, serve to 
show how little the " sure word of prophecy" was understood, 
or heeded, by the people. The author endeavored, as far as he 
could obtain the ear of the public, to disabuse it of these vain 
conceits. He opposed to them "the testimony of God," which 
testifies the continuance of " the times of the Gentiles" until 
Nebuchadnezzar's Image be broken to pieces upon the Moun- 
tains of Israel ; and the perpetuity of the kingdoms until after 
this event, when Christ shall encounter their kings in battle, 3 
and annex their realms to his kingdom by conquest ; for by his 
kingdom, and not by popular violence, will he break in pieces 
and consume them all. 4 But the author was as one that spoke 
parables in the ears of the deaf. Time, however, has verified 
his interpretation in part. Though terribly shaken, the king- 
doms still exist, and republics are at a discount ; and the 
" Order," in which God's enemies rejoice, has been provisionally 
reestablished. 

The author was one of those in America whose heart was re- 
joiced at the news of 1848. His joy, however, sprung from a 
different source to that of other Europeans there. Though not 
behind them in the deepest abhorrence of popes, cardinals, 

1 Eph. i. 10. 2 Dan. xi. 36. 3 Rev. xvii. 14; xix. 19, 21. 4 Dan. ii. 44. 



PBEFACE TO THE LONDON EDITION. IX 

priests, and Jesuits, and of all forms of tyranny and supersti- 
tion, yet would he not lift a finger to suppress them by physical 
force — and to moral suasion they are as irresponsive as Satan. 
Nevertheless, when the potsherds of the earth strive together, 
he rejoices to see the Sin-power tormented 1 by the Democracy 
it has oppressed. He wishes the people success in inflicting all 
the punishment they are able upon the enemies of God and of 
His saints. They have shed the blood of his prophets ; 2 there- 
fore they are worthy of all the terror inflicted upon them. But 
his satisfaction at the news was also on account of the proof it 
afforded him that he had found the prophetic key, and had 
opened the "sure word" aright. He had for several years 
previous to 1848 been calling the attention of the people to the 
signs of the times which indicated the approach of the kingdom 
of heaven. He had pointed to the wasting of the Ottoman 
power ; to the reappearance of the King of the South, and to his 
pushing at the Little Horn of the Goat in 1839, &c. ; as sure and 
certain evidence that the u Time of the End" had actually 
arrived, and that the great political earthquake of the last vial 
would soon shake the kingdoms preparatory to the manifesta- 
tion of the kingdom of God. He particularly enforced upon 
them, in connection with the earthquake, the evidence to be 
derived from the sign of the Unclean Spirits like Frogs, 3 the 
only correct interpretation of which, he believes, he has pre- 
sented to the world in this volume, on page 339. For the proof 
of his accuracy he appeals to what has since- occurred, and is 
now transpiring in Europe ; the validity of which every one 
may know who chooses to open his eyes and see — for no proof 
can be stronger than a demonstration by facts, which are stub- 
born things, and will not testify amiss. 

The events of 1848 caused many in the United States to re- 
visit their native lands. Among these was the author of this 
volume. Believing he could irradiate the light of the prophetic 
word upon the political tragedies of the time, and by so doing 
be of use to those who desired to know the truth, he determined 
to intermit his labors in America, where he had been operating 
for about sixteen years in the same vocation, and to see if " a 
door of utterance" might not be opened in England for the 
same purpose. He was the more induced to take this step by 
a desire to be nearer the scene of action, that he might avail 
himself of the more frequent and copious details" furnished by 
the British than the American press, to the end that he might 
as speedily as possible obtain a comprehensive view of the 

1 Rev. xiv. 9-12 ; xviii. 20. 2 Rev. xvi. 6. 3 Rev. xvi. 13, 14. 



X PREFACE TO THE LONDON EDITION. 

crisis ; which, is the most important that has yet happened to 
the world, because it is pregnant of consequences for good^and 
evil, which will leave their mark upon society for a thousand 
years. Having made his arrangements accordingly, he arrived 
in London, June 28, 1848 ; and in July following he received 
an invitation to visit Nottingham, and to deliver a course of 
lectures upon the times, in connection with the prophetic word. 
The interest created during his short stay there was great and 
encouraging, and became the occasion of invitations to visit 
other towns and cities also. During this tour he visited Derby, 
Belper, Lincoln, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Paisley, and ad- 
dressed thousands of the people, who heard him gladly. Those 
who opened the way for him were neither the rich nor the noble, 
but intelligent men of industrious and steady habits, who de- 
sired to know and disseminate the truth according to their 
means. 1 As the author's labors were gratuitous, they were the 
better able to afford him facilities ; and he would add here the 
testimony of his experience, that not only is the gospel, when 
preached, "preached to the poor," and received by them, but it 
is the poor also who devote themselves to its proclamation, and 
who do most for its support. If it had not been for the poor 
and humble during the last 1849 years, the gospel would have 
perished from the earth ; for the rich have not been the per- 
sons to leave the comforts of their homes, and to go forth, with- 
out fee or reward, to enlighten their fellow-men, for the truth's 
sake. It is a gratification to the author to be able to say, that 
he has left his home, 4000 miles in the south-west; that he has 
travelled twice through Britain ; delivered 170 addresses to 
the people ; sat up early and late conversing with them on the 
things of the kingdom, and written this work, that he may 
leave a testimony behind him, and as yet has received no more 
than four shillings over his travelling expenses. He mentions 
this, that the reader may be able to acquit him of being a 
trader in religion ; and that what he says in this book concern- 
ing " spiritual merchants" may not lose its point under the 
supposition that he also is one of the wealthy and thriving firm. 
Rich men have not yet learned to "make themselves friends 
of the mammon of unrighteousness ; that when they fail, they 
may receive them into everlasting habitations." 2 All the oppo- 
sition the author has had to contend against since his arrival in 
Britain has proceeded from them ; but he is gratified in being 
able to state, that they have failed to obstruct him, and that 
their waywardness has recoiled upon their own pates. 

1 Acts iii. G. 2 Luke xvi. 9 ; 1 Tim. vi. 17-19. 



PREFACE TO THE LONDON EDITION. XI 

The interest created in the thousands who listened to the 
author's discourses has originated the work now offered to the 
world. A request was publicly made to him in Edinburgh and 
Glasgow, that what had been spoken should be printed; and 
that, as it was not to be expected that he should publish at a 
mere venture, committees would be formed to promote a sub- 
scription. Although the author had concluded to return to 
America in October or November, he could not find it in his 
heart to leave his work unfinished, seeing that such a volume 
was now desired. Trusting, therefore, to the good faith of 
those who had become interested in the truth, he acceded to 
their request, and on his return to London entered upon the 
labor, which has proved sufficiently laborious by the close ap- 
plication required to do much in a limited time. Having at 
length finished the manuscript, the author made a second tour 
in June, 1849. In addition to the former places, he visited 
Birmingham, Newark, Dundee, Aberdeen, and Liverpool. The 
result of his labors was a list of upwards of a thousand sub- 
scribers, which encouraged him to go to press on his return to 
London in September. But on revising the manuscript, he 
found some things omitted, others touched too lightly, and other 
parts too diffuse ; so that, upon the whole, he condemned it as 
unsuitable, and imposed upon himself the task of writing it 
over again — which, after four months, he has accomplished, and 
now offers it to the public for its " edification, exhortation, and 
comfort." 

The nature of the work is indicated on the title-page. It is 
a work showing what the Bible teaches as a whole, and not the 
elaboration of a new, or fantastical, theological theory ; or the 
new vamping of an old one. It demonstrates the great subject 
of the scriptures, namely, — "the Kingdom of God and of His 
Anointed," — without which they would be as a nut whose 
kernel had perished. It is a book for all classes, lay and cleri- 
cal, without respect of persons ; for all are concluded under sin, 
being all ignorant of " this gospel of the kingdom." Judging 
from the lucubrations of public writers of the ministerial class, 
the nature of the times demands something out of the ordinary 
periodical and pulpit routine, to awake " the churches" to spir- 
itual life, lest they sleep the sleep of death. They are truly in 
a Laodicean state, 1 and ready to be spued out of the mouth of 
the Lord. They say they are " rich and increased in goods, 
and have need of nothing ;" but some of their doctors have 
discernment enough to see, that they are " wretched, and 

1 Eev. iii. 17 



Xll PREFACE TO THE LONDON EDITION, 

miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." But, alas for 
them, they know not bow to remedy the evil ! They do not 
perceive that the fault is in their systems, which have made 
them what they are, and which they are pledged to support on 
pain of " suffering the loss of all things." The great desidera- 
tum of the crisis is the Gospel of the Kingdom. The State-clergy 
and the Dissenting-ministry are ignorant of the Gospel; and 
" like priest like people." " The churches" are full of darkness, 
for the Gospel doth not shine into them, being neither believed 
nor preached among them. Here, then, is a book peculiarly 
adapted to the times. It will show the people what the gospel 
is— what is the obedience it requires — and enable them to 
discern the times ; that the Lord may not come upon them at 
unawares, and take them unprepared. It is a book, not for 
these times only, but for all the years which constitute " the 
time of the end," and thenceforward to the restoration of the 
kingdom and throne of David. It is named Elpis Israel, or 
IsraeVs Hope ; for the kingdom of which it treats is that which 
is longed for by all intelligent Israelites, and for which, said 
Paul, "lam bound with this chain." Elpis Israel's subject-mat- 
ter is national, not sectarian. It treats of a nation, and of its civil 
and ecclesiastical institutions in a past and future age. It is design- 
ed to enlighten both Jews and Gentiles in Israel's Hope, that by 
conforming to the proclamation of their king, they may be pre- 
pared for the administration of its affairs in concert with him, 
when all nations shall be as politically subject to his dominion, 
as Hindostan and Britain are to Queen Victoria's. It is design- 
ed to show men how they may attain to eternal life in this the- 
ocracy, and obtain a crown which shall never fade away. To 
accomplish this, the reader must, in justice to himself and the 
truth, study it with the Bible at his right hand ; for he will find 
but few pages in which frequent reference is not made to its 
authority, and without which nothing can or ought to be deter- 
mined. 

As to the composition of the work, the public need not ex- 
pect to be captivated by what is termed " fine writing." The 
author's time has been too precious for the fabrication of tinsel. 
His anxiety has been, not to throw the critics into ecstacies, but 
to supply the inquirer after truth with testimony and reason for 
faith. He has endeavored to make Elpis Israel rich in matter, 
however poor in dress. Literary flowers in classic fields need 
not be sought for here ; for however disposed he might be to 
"show off," the author has found no scope in his subject for 
flights of the imagination. His business has been to make man- 
ifest what actually exists, and is declared shall be, and not to 



PREFACE TO THE LONDON EDITION. Xlll 

indulge in fiction. Such solemn trifling he leaves to pulpit 
orators and the divine doctors of the schools. 

A copy of this work has been ordered for presentation to the 
Autocrat of all the Eussias. He will find in it much concern- 
ing his dominion. The high priest of the Jews showed Alex- 
ander the Great the prophecy in Daniel concerning himself; 
and although it spoke of his power being broken, the knowledge 
of it did not deter him from endeavoring to found a universal 
dominion. So it will be with the Autocrat. He will, doubt- 
less, receive all that speaks of the extension of his empire over 
Europe and Turkey, because his ambition will be flattered by 
it; but being impressed with the idea of his being God's "Vice- 
gerent upon earth, he will probably disregard what relates to 
the breaking of his power on the mountains of Israel by the 
Lord from heaven; arguing as a natural man, that it is not like- 
ly God will destroy his Grand Vizier among the nations. But 
whatever the Autocrat may think of the destiny marked out 
for him, the reader's attention is particularly invited to what is 
said respecting it in this volume. The future movements of 
Eussia are notable signs of the times, because they are predicted 
in the scriptures of truth. The Eussian Autocracy, in its pleni- 
tude, and on the verge of its dissolution, is the Image of Neb- 
uchadnezzar standing upon the Mountains of Israel ready to be 
smitten by the Stone. When Eussia makes its grand move for 
the building up of its image-empire, then let the reader know 
that the end of all things, as at present constituted, is at hand. 
The long-expected, but stealthy advent of the King of Israel, 
will be on the eve of becoming a fact ; and salvation will be to 
those, who not only looked for it, but have trimmed their lamps 
by believing the gospel of the kingdom unto the obedience of 
faith, and the perfection thereof in " fruits meet for repentance."' 

As to the reviewers, the author presents his compliments to 
them, and respectfully invites them to examine this work im- 
partially. While he has no wish to propitiate them, it would 
afford him great pleasure to convert them to what he believes 
to be " the truth as it is in Jesus," as opposed to the dogmas of 
their creeds. It is not to be expected that they can approve 
the work, seeing that, if the things exhibited be received, Sec- 
tarianism is dethroned, at least in the hearts of those who re- 
ceive the principles inculcated. By Sectarianism the author 
means everything professedly Christian not according to u the 
law and the testimony."' 2 He therefore uses the word as repre- 
sentative of all state-religions, as well as of the forms opposed 

1 James ii. 22 : Heb. ix. 28. 2 Isai. viii. 20. 



XIV PREFACE TO THE LONDON EDITION". 

to them. Being the echo of no living sect, but the advocate 
only of what is written in the oracles of God, of the faith and 
practice of that "sect" which in Paul's time "was everywhere 
spoken against," 1 he has shown no favor to the Heresies (aipeoeig) 
which destroy it, and therefore he expects none. The perils 
to which he is exposed are only to be despised by those whose 
houses are founded upon the rock. The author is free to admit 
his weakness and inferiority in every respect that can be im- 
agined. In one thing, however, he feels strong, and armed at 
all points for a conflict with the giants — he knows what is writ- 
ten in u the law and the testimony" and he understands the 
meaning of it. If they undertake to review this work, they 
must put it through the evolutions of the Spirit ; and if they 
enter into combat with it, he would advise them to throw away 
their wooden swords, and encounter it with " the two-edged 
sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God ;" for no other 
weapon can do more than raise the author's mirth. But, per- 
haps, prudence, which is sometimes the better part of valor, may 
dictate the expediency of saying nothing about it. This might 
be very good policy if Elpis Israel were born from the press 
only to gasp and die. But editors must remember, that before 
a single copy reaches them it will be in the hands of upwards 
of a thousand people. This is a fact not to be despised. Such 
a number of intelligent persons is calculated to make a trouble- 
some impression upon the public mind ; and if the press do not 
check it, there is no telling whereunto the evil may grow ! Let 
" the ministry" be up and doing. It is not the " infidel" their 
influence hath to fear ; but the word of the living God under- 
stood by the people. The author has some of them among his 
subscribers. He trusts that for their own sakes they will read 
this work with candor, impartiality, and tranquility of mind. 
As individuals, he has no controversy with them. His opposi- 
tion is to their systems, which he trusts they will abandon for 
the gospel of the kingdom. If Elpis Israel convince them of 
error, then, like the apostle, may they esteem their worldly 
honors and profits as mere dross for the excellency of the truth. 
Let them leave the fat things of the apostacyto those who 
"mind earthly things;" and let them put on the whole armor 
of God, and go forth among the people with the two-edged 
sword of the Spirit, and do battle for the truth. 

In conclusion, then, the author respectfully hands over to the 
subscribers this work, as an ample fulfilment of his part of the 
covenant between them. They can now form their own judg- 

1 Acts xxviii. 22. 



PREFACE TO THE LONDON EDITION. XV 

ment of its merits or defects according to the evidence a candid 
perusal may afford. And may Grod Almighty bless their hon- 
est endeavors to know and understand his truth, which is in- 
trinsically invincible, and needs only to come in contact with 
" good and honest hearts" to become triumphantly defiant of all 
the wiles and " power of the enemy." May the spirit of the 
truth enter into them, and lead them into its liberty and frater- 
nity ; that at the coming of the Son of Man in celestial majesty 
and power, they may share with Him in his joy, and inherit the 
kingdom of God with eternal glory. 

3 Brudenell Place, New North Road, London, 
January 1, 1850. 



PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 



It is customary to introduce a new edition of a work by an 
additional preface. This is very well if the publisher have any- 
thing to say that is likely to interest the reader ; otherwise it 
only increases the bulk, cost and weight of the work unneces- 
sarily. I have endeavored to persuade myself that there was 
no need to add, in the way of preface, to what I have said al- 
ready in the London edition ; but I find I cannot evade the ne- 
cessit}^ of inserting a few pages more, which the circumstances 
of the case have rendered indispensable. 

In the preface to the first edition, I stated that " a copy of this 
work had been ordered for presentation to the Autocrat of all 
the Bussias." This was the fact. It was ordered by a friend in 
Dundee, Scotland, whence a great trade is carried on with the 
Emperor's dominions. Now, what I have to add, is rendered 
necessary, that the reader may not be misled. He will have 
probably concluded that the Autocrat is in possession of Elpis 
Israel, and acquainted with its contents. This, however, is 
not the case, as far as I am at present informed. My friend 
in Dundee did his best to get the Avork transmitted. He applied 
to several captains of vessels trading to St. Petersburg, but 
they all declined to take it, lest it might bring them into trouble 
there. 

Apprehensive that he might have difficulty, and desiring to 
make its transmission sure, I determined while in London to 
send it through Baron Brunnow, the Eussian ambassador at the 
Court of St. James. I accordingly put it up in parcel form, 
w T ith a letter to his excellency, and another to the emperor him- 
self, and sent it by a special messenger. He found some diffi- 
culty, however, in procuring admission for it, it being a rule at 
Ashburnham House to receive nothing from private persons, 
unless previously ordered. After some little dispute, and my 
messenger refusing to take it back, it was received and handed 
in to the ambassador. This was on February 11, 1850. He 
retained the book sixteen days, and on the 27th returned it 
through the " Parcels' Delivery Company," with the following 
note: 

"Xe Baron de Brunnow presente ses complimens a Monsieur 
John Thomas et en lui restituant ci-pres un ouvrage imprime, 
et la lettre jointe a son billet du 11 Fevrier dernier, se fait un 
2 



XVlll PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 

devoir de le prevenir en meme terns que les regies du service 
n'autorisent point les Ambassades de Eussie de transmettre a 
St. Petersbourg des envois a l'adresse de S. M. FEmpereur. 

" Le Baron Brunnow regrette de devoir aj outer qu'il lui serait 
impossible de solliciter de son gouvernement une exception a la 
r&gle generale en faveur du present envoi, 

ASHBURNHAM HOUSE, 

Le 27 Fevrier. 

For those wbo do not know French, I submit the following 
version : — " Baron Brunnow presents bis compliments to Mr, 
John Thomas, and in returning to him so soon a printed work, 
and the letter which accompanied his note of the 11th of Febru- 
ary last, feels it his duty to inform him, at the same time, that 
the rules of the service do not at all allow the ambassadors of 
Eussia to transmit to St. Petersburg things sent to the address 
of His Majesty the Emperor. 

"Baron Brunnow regrets the necessity of adding, that it 
would be impossible for him to solicit of his government an ex- 
ception to the general rule in favor of Elpis Israel." 

Before this I had sent a copy of the work, with a letter, to 
Lord Palmerston, the English Secretary of State for Foreign 
Affairs. On receiving his reply, which will be found on another 
page, I printed them both, and sent a copy to the Baron, with 
the following note : 

u Mons. le docteur Thomas presente ses complimens a Mons, 
le Baron de Brunnow, et lui remet une lettre qu'il a publiee 
et addressee au vicomte Palmerston, Secretaire d'Etat pour 
les affaires etrangeres. Mons. T. envoie ladite lettre a Mons, 
le Baron dans l'objet de Finformer que le Vicomte possede deja, 
et apprecie l'information y contenue, en regrettant en meme 
terns que les regies du service ambassadorial de Eussie ne 
permettront pas a Mons. le Baron de le transmettre a Sa Majeste 
l'Empereur. Mons. T. se permet aussi de faire observer a 
Mons. le Baron si ce ne soit pas une mauvaise politique de 
fermer les yeux sur cela que les ennemis de l'Empire de Eus- 
sie se trouvent de connaitre. Les destinees des nations sont 
determinees par les idees, qui sont aussi la cause de la chute des 
gouvernements : il faut done que nous n'ignorons pas ce qui 
peut donner probablement 1'avantage a nos adversaires. 

" Mons. T. pric Mons. le Baron de vouloir bien agreer ses 
remerciemens pour la politesse dont son billet du 27 Fevrier 
porte l'expression." 

When rendered into English, the above reads as follows : — 



PEEFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. XIX 

"Dr. Thomas presents his compliments to Baron Brum now, and 
sends him a letter he has published, and addressed to Viscount 
Palmerston, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. Mr. T. 
sends the said letter to the Baron for the purpose of informing 
him that the Viscount already possesses and appreciates the 
information contained (in Elpis Israel), at the same time re- 
gretting that the rules of the ambassadorial service of Russia 
will not allow the Baron to transmit it to His Majesty the 
Emperor. Mr. T. would also submit to the Baron, if it be not 
bad policy to close the eyes upon what the enemies of the Rus- 
sian Empire are themselves acquainted with. Ideas determine 
the destinies of nations, and cause the fall of governments : it is 
necessary, then, that we do not remain ignorant of what may 
probably give the advantage to our opponents. 

" Mr. T. begs the Baron to accept his thanks for the polite- 
ness evinced by his note of the 27th February." 

3 Brudenell Place, New North Road, 
London, March 7, 1850. 

This concluded my correspondence with the ambassador. He 
retained the "billet," but returned the "letter" addressed to the 
Emperor. The "rules of the service" are an effectual expedient 
to exclude from the Autocrat's mind all inconvenient ideas. I 
have no doubt, however, but that it is just as it ought to be. 
The Angel-Princes who watch over and superintend the affairs 
of the nations, may have arranged that it should be so ; the 
darkness of the Russian Majesty being necessary for its precipi- 
tation upon the hopeless destiny that awaits it. 

It would, perhaps, be deemed tantalizing to have mentioned 
my correspondence with these high personages, and to leave the 
reader ignorant of its purport. I will therefore terminate his 
suspense, and at the same time gratify his curiosity, by laying 
the contents of the epistles before them. First, then, I shall lay 
before him the letter to the Russian ambassador whieh elicited 
his note to me of February 27th. 

3 Brudenell Place, New North Road, 
London, Feb. 11, 1850. 
Sir, — I have thought it no more than right and proper to for- 
ward to you, for transmission to the Emperor Nicholas, a copy 
of a work recently published and extensively circulated, in 
which the future destiny of Russia, as revealed by Divine Prov- 
idence in the Bible, is largely treated of. 

In a conversation between the emperor and certain Polish 
bishops, translated into " The Times," he is reported to have 



XX PEEFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 

said, that " the true faith exists in Russia alone" and that he has 
" firm faithy We also understand in this country that he 
claims to be GooVs Vicar — the imperial representative of the 
Almighty among the nations. This is the grand climax of the 
more humble pretensions enunciated by the renowned Peter, 
who found Eussia a small rivulet and left it an immense river, 
that his successors might magnify it into "an ocean:" — to 
whom, as he would have the world believe, " the All Powerful 
had revealed his wishes and intentions." Admitting that the 
Greek faith is as true, and certainly more ancient than the Ro- 
man, which glories in another vicar than the emperor, but 
denying in tolo the apostolicity and verity of either, I congratu- 
late your excellency in being the representative of a ruler, who, 
at least, professes faith in God, and a firm conviction that "the 
Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to 
whomsoever he will." 

The Emperor Nicholas seems to have inherited the convic- 
tions of Peter the Great. The latter " looked upon Russia as 
called upon to establish her rule over all Europe ; and its invasion 
of the West and the East as a decree of Divine Providence ;" 
while the former, in his note to Count Karl Yassilievitch, speaks 
of " the policy of Russia having a salutary end assigned to it by 
Divine Providence" which is manifested in the preservation of 
Europe from the incalculable calamities with which it is threat- 
ened ;" that is, in plain English, as we say, the salutary end of 
Russian policy is for the emperor to become the Constantine of 
the world, seeing that it is no longer able to keep the peace 
without him. 

To minds unacquainted with " the things noted in the scrip- 
tures of truth," these pretensions of the Russian Majesty appear 
preposterous. They look at your emperor as an ambitious and 
cruel tyrant, who, like another Attila, delights in war and 
massacre for its own sake. But it is evident from his procla- 
mations, that his aggressions are motived by considerations which 
they have not "faith" enough to comprehend. He believes his 
country is called of God to save Europe from anarchy, which 
can only be accomplished by the iron hand of an Autocrat, giv- 
ing law and "faith" to its peoples, whose disorders arise from 
impiety and irreligion. If the earth is to be inhabited, it is un- 
questionable that order must be maintained. Superstition hav- 
ing first brutalized the nations, and a little knowledge after- 
wards puffed them up, they respond only to two extremes, 
equally hateful to all rightly constituted minds — licentiousness 
and despotism. The happy medium is Liberty based upon 
truth and righteousness. But at present this is impossible ; for 



PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. XXI 

neither popes, emperors, kings, priests nor people have knowl- 
edge, virtue or wisdom enough to compass the greatest good 
for society by which God shall be glorified and the nations 
blessed. 

Despotism, then, is the desideratum for Europe at present ; 
and there is but one species of it extant, vigorous and iron- 
sceptred enough to respond to the necessities of the case ; and 
that is the Russian. Your Emperor need not fear to strike the 
blow for universal dominion. The world lV before him, and in 
its decrepitude, as it were, inviting him to become its lord from 
the rising to the setting sun. 

He has, doubtless, a speculative faith in the'Bible, though he 
may not be aware of the great things recorded therein concern- 
ing the mission of his " sacred Eussia." The book which I now 
send him through your excellency as a duplicate copy, will show 
him what Divine Providence has decreed concerning it. He, or a 
successor, will wield a sceptre in Constantinople, for magnitude 
of power and extent of dominion *such as the w r orld has never 
yet witnessed since Nimrod hunted men as beasts before the 
Lord. Eussia's mission is, to reduce all the nations of the Old 
World, save Britain and her dependencies, into one imperial 
dominion represented in the book of Daniel by the Image of 
Nebuchadnezzar. Licentiousness will again break loose, and in 
the melee the Austro-Papal empire will succumb ; the contest 
will end in the discomfiture of the Continent, and Eussia, like a 
mighty inundation, will overflow the nations, and dash her 
waves upon their shores, from the Danish Belts to the Darda- 
nelles. Britain will rage, and shake the world with her thun- 
der ; but, as in the days of Napoleon, her alliance will be fetal 
to them that trust her, and only precipitate their fall. 

Let the Autocrat, however, beware how he lay his hand on 
Syria. Europe and Turkey will be his ; Persia, Ethiopia, 
Libya, and at length, Egypt — but in Palestine the power of 
Eussia will be broken. But beyond this, I will say no more. 
I have said enough to interest both your excellency and the 
Emperor in any book wherein these astounding events are 
treated of. If your imperial lord be too cautious, too hesitating, 
too fearful of the strife, to " stretch out his hand upon the coun- 
tries, " the Most High, who ruleth in the kingdom of men, and 
givetli it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest 
of men," will soon remove him* and exalt a more fitting instru- 
ment to execute his will. 

* In four or five years after Nicholas was suddenly removed, not being the 
right man for future developments. — Note to Third Edition. 



XXll PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 

That Kussia's mission may be soon accomplished, and the con- 
stituents of her fall j developed dominion be "broken to pieces 
together," and like thistle-down, or " the chaff of the summer 
threshing-floors," be carried away by a divine tempest, and found 
no more forever, is the earnest and daily prayer to Heaven of 
him, who subscribes himself, with all due consideration and 
respect, 

Your Excellency's well-wisher, 

JOHN THOMAS, 
Author of Elpis Israel. 

The letter which accompanied the above, addressed to the 
Autocrat, and returned with the book, is as follows : 

3 Brudenell Place, New North Eoad, 
London, England, Feb. 11, 1850. 

Nicholas, Emperor and Prince of Hos, Mosc, and Tobl : 

May it please your Majesty, — The most high God hath given 
you a kingdom and majesty, glory and honor ; and for the 
majesty he hath given yon, all the peoples, nations, and lan- 
guages of the Continent tremble with fear, being apprehensive 
of the terror coming upon them by your hand. In your own 
kingdom you are absolute ; for whom you will you punish, and 
whom you will you pardon — whom yon will you promote, and 
whom you will you put down. This is a tremendous power to 
be at the disposal of a mortal man : but happy is it for mankind 
the will of kings, popes, and emperors is not free ; but subor- 
dinated, restrained, controlled of God — as it is written in the 
Holy Oracles, " the powers that be are placed under God" — 
vno rov Qeov rerayiievat etotv. 

I address you, Czar, by that title which the God of Heaven 
hath bestowed upon you in the writings of his holy prophets, 
who, in their day, made known his secrets before autocrats and 
kings of great renown. The title is equivalent to " Autocrat of 
all the Kussias," by which you are ordinarily designated. But, 
Czar, I write to you respectfully to invite your attention to what 
Israel's prophets have recorded concerning "the mission" of 
your "sacred Kussia;" and to request your acceptance of a 
work, styled " Elpis Israel" by which your understanding of 
their testimony may be facilitated. The book will explain to 
you the applicability of the above title to your dynasty. It will 
also unfold to you the mighty power and astounding magnitude 
of the dominion which the most high God has predestined for 
your rising country ; and demonstrate to you that your sceptre 



PKEFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. XX1U 

in the hand of the last of your successors will be shivered to pieces, 
as a just retribution for his unparalleled presumption and evil 
deeds. 

A work laying before you such high and important matters 
as these, cannot fail to interest you, Czar, of all men upon the 
earth. The most high God speaks to you in the Bible, saying, 
" Thou art he of whom I have spoken in old time by my ser- 
vants, the prophets of Israel;" and he commands you, saying 
also, " Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all 
thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard 
unto them." He has enumerated the peoples and nations which 
are to constitute your " company" when the dominion of Russia 
shall have attained its full extent No previous empire will have 
equalled it ; for, in addition to the territory you now possess, it 
will comprehend that of the old Roman empire, with Persia, and 
the outlying countries of Germany, Bohemia, &c. Europe and 
Turkey will fall before your hosts, as the former fell before Na- 
poleon. England will be against you. You will not be able 
to cope with her upon the sea- She will make you respect her 
power there ; for God has given her the ocean, but the land to 
you. Her alliance will be fatal to all the Continentals who look 
to her for help. She cannot conquer Destiny. Her politicians 
affect to despise your power, and from the supposed poverty of 
your treasury predict your inability to compass your ambition ! 
They forget that the barbarians who overturned the Roman Em- 
pire made the conquered pay the expenses of the war ; so in 
your case, a single campaign may put you in possession of Con- 
stantinople and its European dependencies, and place you in a 
position to command riches which, under Turkish rale, are un- 
developed, and unavailable. 

Fear not, then, O Czar, to unloose your hosts against the 
West. Europe is weak, and her debility is your strength. Her 
licentious masses hate their incapable and stolid rulers. There 
is no union, no sympathy between them. The West and South 
are at the end of their career, and doomed of God to a social 
disruption and overthrow. Russia is his sword to punish the 
Latins for their crimes against his people and his holy name, 
which has been blasphemed by their popes, emperors, and popu- 
lations, as were the Saracens and the Turks his sword to recom- 
pense the Greeks for their enormities. Arise, then, Czar, draw 
thy sword upon Turk and Papist, and throw the scabbard to the 
winds. Everything favors the enterprise : Turkey is decrepit ; 
Austria death-stricken; Naples, Sardinia, Portugal and Spain, 
names signifying political nihility; France unstable and dis- 
tracted ; Germany disunited, and therefore weak ; Denmark al- 



XXIV PEEFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 

ready in your interest ; and, with a little management, England 
unable to get at you except with her gold. With your right 
hand upon the Danish Belts, and your left upon the Dardanelles, 
you can shut her out from the Baltic and Euxine, and do accord- 
ing to your will, subject only to the control of the Most High, 
against whose foes you are called to fight. The coming conflict 
between France and Austria, in the case of Italy and the Pope, will 
still further facilitate your conquests. The revealed destinies of 
these powers, and of the Papacy, so worthily detested by all the 
friends of truth, righteousness, and humanity, are interpreted in 
" Elpis Israel" so that I need not expatiate upon them here. 
Their mutually exhausting wars, extinctive of the Austrian Em- 
pire, will leave France an easy prey to Kussia. Divide and con- 
quer, for French, Austrians and Italians, like Turks, Greeks, and 
Kussians, are fit only for subjection to him who is able to rule 
them with a rod of iron. 

But, after Kussia has done her w:ork upon the licentious and 
degenerate nations of the West, the most high God will bring 
her also to judgment for her crimes, as He has Assyria, Persia, 
Macedon, and Pome, in former days. Her dominion will pass 
away as "the baseless fabric of a vision, and leave not a wreck 
behind." Where, Czar, is now the meteor-like empire of 
"Napoleon le grand?" Yanished like a vision of the night, or 
the morning dew ! And such is the consummation of the mis- 
sion of your " sacred Kussia," whose Image-Empire will be smit- 
ten on its feet by the God of Heaven, when her Autocrat and 
his hosts, "like a cloud to cover the land," shall fall by pesti- 
lence and the sword, " upon the mountains of Israel." This is 
the "salutary end" of your power "decreed by Divine Provi- 
dence," in the Holy Scriptures. The last of the Autocrats therein 
designated by the title "Gogue of the land of Magogue, prince 
of Kos, Mosc, and Tobl," will be bruised, beaten down and trod- 
den under foot by the Messiah of Israel, when he descends in 
power and great glory to " break in pieces the oppressor," and to 
establish truth and justice, good and righteous government, in 
the earth. 

That the fate of Sennacherib, or of Belshazzar, may not be 
that of your majesty's person ; but that, subduing Turkey and 
Europe, you may temper severity with mercy, being " a terror 
to evil doers, and a praise to them that do well ; and that, pro- 
tecting the helpless, showing kindness to the poor, and ever re- 
membering that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, 
and calls their kings and potentates to a fearful account for their 
misrule — you may end your days peacefully in the midst of 



PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. XXV 

your family and dependents — is the sincere hope of one who 
subscribes himself, 

With all due consideration and respect, 
Your Majesty's well-wisher, 

JOHN THOMAS, 
Author of Elpis Israel. 

Addenda. — I would add, by way of explanation, that two 
copies of the work have been forwarded to your Majesty — one 
with this letter through Baron de Brunnow; the other by 
transmission to a resident in St. Petersburg. This plan has 
been adopted in order to secure the safe arrival of one at least, 
which, I doubt not, your majesty's courtesy will induce you to 
acknowledge. 

I will add no more, but commend the work to the reader's at- 
tentive perusal. Let him study it carefully, not forgetting to 
compare its exposition with the things noted in the Scriptures of 
truth. Let him read it through before he pronounces sentence 
upon its contents ; for the knowledge of the end is necessary to 
a right comprehension of the beginning. Farewell, then, and 
may success attend the reader's efforts to know, understand, and 
to do the truth. 

Kichmond, Ya., June, 1851. 



PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION. 



Neakly ten years have elapsed since this work was originally 
published in London, England. A year after, an edition was 
published in New York, the two editions collectively consisting 
of two thousand three hundred copies. These have been all 
disposed of, so that for the past three years the author has been 
unable to supply a considerable additional demand for the work. 
He has been urged by many who have read the book to publish 
a new edition ; and as a proof that this was not a mere compli- 
ment, one of them, (Mr. Alex. Packie, of Baltimore, Md.,) do- 
nates to the author eighty dollars towards the publication ; and 
another, whose liberality towards what he believes is the truth, 
is well known, (Mr. W. P. LemmoD, of the same city,) writes, 
u Apart from all other considerations than the real merit of the 
book, you have nothing to fear as to its success. I would re- 
commend you to give at once a public announcement of your in- 
tention to issue a new edition, and invite orders ; you may find 
a larger edition wanted than you anticipate." Encouraged, 
therefore, by many similar assurances from others, I have pub- 
lished this third edition of Elpis Israel. 

When the work was written the times were of a highly excit- 
ing and stirring character. Nor have they materially changed 
to the present hour. During the past ten years a succession of 
events has demonstrated, that a fixed and predetermined pur- 
pose is in process of development, unknown, indeed, to "the 
Powers that be," but known of God, revealed in his word, and 
guided by his hand. That purpose is, the gathering together of 
the hosts of the nations against Jerusalem to war ; that the Eternal 
Spirit, by Jesus, the King of kings, may smite them upon the moun- 
tains of Israel; and in concert with the resurrected and living saints 
at the head of the armies of Israel, reestablish the throne and kingdom 



XXVlll PEEFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION. 

of David, and subjugate all other kingdoms to this New Power in 
the earth. If the reader desire to assure himself of the verity of 
this purpose, he may consult the testimonies referred to below,** 
which the past history of Israel, of Jesus and the Saints, and of 
the world at large, all proves has never yet been fulfilled ; so 
that he has no alternative but to believe the purpose, or reject the 
truth of the Bible, and write himself an infidel. There is no 
neutral ground. Every man in " Christendom," falsely so call- 
ed, is on the side of the purpose, or against it. Jesus and his 
apostles preached that u Salvation is of the Jews" — a salvation 
dependent upon the development of the purpose defined. Hence, 
"when ye see certain things coming to pass, then look up, and 
lift up your heads ; for your redemption draweth nigh" — a say- 
ing which intimates that the approach of redemption, whatever 
it may consist in, may be known by a current fulfilment of pre- 
dicted things shortly preceding its manifestation. 

It is this relation between the gospel salvation and political 
events that makes the current time so highly interesting ; for 
there is no salvation for Jew or Grentile, until Jerusalem is in 
actual possession of the " Gog of the land of Magog, prince of Bosh, 
Mosc and Tobl" and he be broken there by the Kino of the 
Jews, returned from the "far country" where he now is. 
This is an indispensable necessity, and one that cannot obtain so 
long as Europe exists under its present constitution. What 
is needed there is one ruling power, whose ascendancy is above 
all rivalry ; and ivhose policy will be approved and accepted by all 
its continental contemporaries, as absolute. To develop this there 
must be a tempest, in which the countries shall be overflowed 
by a submerging inundation — Dan. xi. 40, 41 ; or, as Prince 
Metternich remarked, saying, " after one the Deluge. 1 ' The states- 
men of the old world see that something terrible is loom- 
ing in the near future; but they confess that they cannot see the 
end of it. It is true, they cannot, though that end has been pro- 
claimed through the Exile of Patmos wherever the New Testa- 
ment is read. This apostle informs us, that "the Ten Horns re- 
ceive power as kings with the Beast (the Eighth Head of the 
Beast) one hour. These have one mind, and shall give their 
power and strength unto the Beast," and so forth. "For Grod 
hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give 
their Kingdom to the Beast until the word of God be fulfilled," 
— Eev. xvii. 12, 13, 17. Now this combination of Powers up- 

*Isai. xiv. 24-27 ; xxvii. 1-6; Joel iii. 1, 2, 9-17; Mic. v. 1-G ; Zeck. xii. 
1-9: xiv. 1-11; Dan. xi. 40-45; xii. 1,2; Eev. xix. 11-16; xvii. 14; xi. 
15-17 ; v. 9, 10 ; ii. 2G, 27 ; Acts xv. 16 ; Amos ix. 11-15 ; Isai. ix. G, 7 ; Luke, 
i. 31-33— and so forth. 



PEEFACE TO THE THIED EDITION. XXIX 

on the Fourth Beast, habitable for " one hour" or thirty years, 
has never been evinced in all their history. The coming tem- 
pest will promote this development, which, when consummated, 
will produce the " One Mind," or policy, by which all the hosts 
of the nations may be moved as one man against Egypt and 
Jerusalem, to war against the Power (Britain and her allies) then 
in possession. 

In my letter to the late chief of the Power, styled by Ezekiel, 
" Prince of Bosh, Mosc, and Toll" I referred him to " the coming 
conflict between France and Austria, in the case of Italy and the 
Pope." I have been looking for this for the last ten years ; and 
when asked at w r hat time I would revisit England, have invariably 
replied, When France and Austria fall foul of one another ; cer- 
tainly not before. This collision seems now to be imminent ; and 
whenever it breaks out, then, as I wrote to the Czar, will be 
Eussia's opportunity. Nicholas was a little too soon, calculating 
more upon the force of his single arm, than upon force seconded 
by an agreement of other powers. Ezekiel's prophecy seems 
clearly to require the extinction of Austrian ascendancy. If 
the empire be not dissipated, its supremacy must yield to Rus- 
sia, but Ave shall see. He and France are now antagonists ; and 
Austria and Russia are nominally friends. 

When Elpis Israel first appeared, France was a republic un- 
der president Napoleon, self-styled the saviour of society from 
impending anarchy. Since then, in despite of the treaty of 
Vienna, in 1815, which excludes the Buonapart family from all 
sovereign power in Europe, he seized upon sovereignty in 
France, and by a bloody coup-cVetat made himself emperor. He 
has ruled France with scorpions ; and encouraged by success, 
evidently proposes to experiment after his uncle's fashion upon 
Italy, Austria, and the Pope. For our own part, we doubt not 
that the uncle's fate also awaits him. France is a toe of Nebu- 
chadnezzar's image, and a horn of the eighth head of the beast ; 
hence her symbolical constitution is regal, not imperial. I 
expect, therefore, the fall of the French empire in and by the 
same tempest, that is about to change the political map of 
Europe, and to demolish the Ottoman, sustained only from 
without. 

From a review of all that is at work among the powers, we 
may truly say that no times are more interesting and important 
than these. The political situation is that of the " Three unclean 
spirits like Frogs " which are " ivorking miracles " in the political 
world of the old prophetic arena of the divine purpose. No 
ordinary events are about to come to pass ; and whatever comes 
will be promotive of that grand revolution in human affairs by 



XXX PEEFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION". 

which the kingdom of the clergy shall be disrupted ; and the 
civil power that sustains it in all countries, utterly destroyed. 
When ye see these things predicted in Rev. xvi. 12-14, as ye 
may, for they are characteristic of the times, look up and lift up 
your heads ; for in verse 15 of the same chapter, the Spirit saith 
"Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and 
keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his 
shame." 

Eeader, in view of this warning, have you on these " gar- 
ments" are you " keeping " them unspotted by the world ; or 
are you ■ - walking naked? V If you are not " in Christ," you are 
in the rags and nakedness of sin. Your sin is uncovered ; and 
he only is "blessed whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin 
is covered ; the man unto whom Jehovah imputeth not iniquity, 
and in whose spirit there is no guile." Psal. xxxii. 1, 2 ; Rom. 
iv. But you may be ignorant of the whole matter, though you 
may be as full of denominational pietism as a Romish devotee, 
or a protestant enthusiast. Ignorance alienates from the life of 
God ; for pious ignorance is only infidelity ; and " without faith 
it is impossible to please God." Now Elpis Israel has been 
written to dispel the darkness of such as you ; to turn you from 
Satan to God • that you may receive forgiveness of sins, and in- 
heritance among the sanctified through faith that leads into 
Jesus — that you may be clothed with him, as with a pure and 
spotless robe, "clean and white," that you may not walk naked, 
and be exposed to shame. 

We may remark here, that on p. 125, line 17, we are sup- 
posed to say, that "the work of the law was written upon the 
hearts " of Gentiles who had heard nothing of it. This was not 
my meaning. I there endeavor to account for the moral differ- 
ence between the mere savage and the peoples of the four em- 
pires ; that the little light they had came from the law through 
their intercourse with Israel; it came "from without:" but 
where there was no intercourse with this peculiar people, the 
darkness was total ; and there was no accusing or excusing, no 
conscience ; but a blind impulsive instinct, unsentimental as that 
of the beasts that perish. We agree entirely with our intelli- 
gent friend whose letter has been already quoted from at the 
beginning, that " Paul, in Rom. ii. 15, is laboring to check the 
presumption of the Jews who were claiming preeminence in the 
congregation at Rome, because of their superior knowledge of 
the law of Moses, by showing their pretentions vain because 
they had not kept the law ; whereas the Gentiles in the church, 
who never were under the law of Moses, showed that the work 
of the law was written in their hearts by the word of the truth 



PKEFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION. XXXI 

of the gospel by faith, and therefore they kept the righteousness 
of the law ; and by so doing they proved that they were the 
true circumcision, all of which is clearly and beautifully argued 
out to the close of the chapter." 

And now, sending Elpis Israel for a third time upon his 
travels to proclaim the kingdom of God, and its near approach, 
we commend him and all he may salute, " to Him who is able to 
present faultless before the presence of his glory with exceed- 
ing joy ; to the only wise God our Saviour be glory, and majesty, 
and dominion, and power in all the Aions. Amen." 

Mott Haven, Westchester, 1ST. Y., 
May 6, 1859. 



A lso, Published by the Author, 

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"The Herald" has existed twelve years,_.the present series being in its 
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ELPIS ISRAEL 

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AN EXPOSITION 

&c, &c. 



THE RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD 

CHAPTER I. 

The necessity of a Revelation to make known the origin, reason, and tendency of 
things in relation to man and the world around him. It is an intelligible mystery, 
and the only source of true wisdom ; but which is practically repudiated by tho 
Moderns.— The study of the Bible urged, to facilitate and promote which is the 
object of this volume. 

Revolving upon its own axis, and describing an ample circuit 
through the boundless fields of space, is a planet of the solar system 
bearing upon its surface a population of nearly a thousand millions 
subject to sin, disease, and death. This orb of the starry heavens 
shines with a glory similar to that of its kindred spheres. Viewed 
from them, it is seen sparkling " like a diamond in the sky ;" and 
with the rest of the heavens, declares the glory of God, and shows 
forth the handy work of him that did create it. 

This celestial orb, which is a world or system of itself, is styled 
the earth. It is the habitation of races of animals which graze 
its fields, lurk in its forests, soar through its atmosphere, and pass 
through the paths of its seas. At the head of all these is a creature 
like themselves, animal, sensual, and mortal. He is called man. He 
has replenished the earth and subdued it, and filled it with his renown. 
His crimes, however, rather than his virtues, have illustrated and 
distinguished him with an unhappy pre-eminence above all other 
created things. His heart is evil ; and, left to its uncontrolled impulses, 
he becomes licentious, merciless, and more cruel than the fiercest 
beast of prey. 

Such is the being that claims the independent sovereignty of the 
globe. He has founded dominions, principalities, and powers; he 
has built great cities, and vaunted himself in the works of his hands, 
saying, " are not these by the might of my power, and for the honor 
of my majesty ?" He repudiates all lordship over him, and claim* 
the inalienable and inherent right of self government, and of establishing' 
whatever civil and ecclesiastical institutions are best suited to his 
sensuality and caprice. Hence, at successive periods, the earth has 
become the arena of fierce and pandemoniac conflicts ; its tragedies 
have baptized its soil in blood, and the mingled cries of the oppressor 
and the victim have ascended to the throne of the Most Higrh. 



2 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

Skilled in the wisdom which comes from beneath, he is by nature 
ignorant of that which is " first pure, and then peaceable, gentle, and 
easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality 
and without hypocrisy." This is a disposition to which the animal 
man under the guidance of his fleshly mind has no affinity. His 
propensity is to obey the lust of his nature ; and to do its evil 
works, " which are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 
idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, 
sects, envying, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like." 1 All 
these make up the character of the world, " the lust of the flesh, the 
lust of the eye, and the pride of life," upon which is enstamped the 
seal of God's eternal reprobation. " They who do such things shall 
not inherit the kingdom of God," but " they shall die." 

Such is the world of human kind ! The great and impious enemy 
of God upon the earth. Its mind is not subject to his law, neither 
indeed can it be. What shall we say to these things ? Is the world 
as we behold it a finality ? Are generations of men, rebellious against 
God, and destroyers of the earth, to occupy it successively through 
an endless series of ages ? Are men to repeat the history of the 
past for ever ? Is the earth always to be cursed, and sin and death 
to reign victorious ? Who can answer these inquiries ? If we survey 
the starry canopy, thence no sign or voice is given expressive of the 
truth. They declare the eternal power and divinity of their Creator, 
but they speak not of the destiny of the earth or of man upon it. If 
we question the mountains and hills, the plains and valleys, the rivers, 
seas, and oceans of the earth, and demand their origin, why they were 
produced, to what end they were created, their rocks, their strata, 
their fossils, or deposits, afford us no response. Turn we to man and 
ask him, *f whence earnest thou, and what is thy destiny ? Whence 
all the evil of thy nature, why art thou mortal, who made thee, who 
involved thee in this wide-spread ruin and calamity on every side ? 
Ask an infant of days the history of the past, and he can as well 
detail it, as man can answer these inquiries without a revelation from 
him who is before all, and to whom is known from the beginning all 
he intends shall come to pass. So true is ir, that, unaided by light 
from heaven, " since the beginning of the world men have not heard, 
nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside 
thee what is prepared for him that waiteth for him ;" but adds the 
apostle in his comment upon these words of the prophet, " God hath 
revealed these things unto us by his spirit * * * which things we 
(apostles) speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but 
which the holy spirit teacheth ; interpreting spiritual things in spiritual 
words." 2 

To the Bible, then, all must come at last if they would be truly wise 
in spiritual things. This is a great truth which few of the sons of 
men have learned to appreciate according to its importance. A man 
may be a theologian profoundly skilled in all questions of " divinity;" 
he may be well versed in the mythology of the heathen world ; be 
able to speak all languages of the nations ; compute the distances of 

1 Gal. v. 19. ' 1 Cor. ii. 9, 10, 13. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 3 

orb from orb, and weigh them in the scales of rigid calculation ; he 
may know all science and be able to solve all mysteries,— but if 
with all this, he be ignorant of " the things of the spirit ;" if he 
know not the true meaning of the Bible ; he seemeth only to be wise, 
while he is, in fact, a fool. Therefore, the apostle saith, " let no man 
deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this 
world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom 
of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh 
the wise in their own craftiness. And again, the Lord knoweth the 
thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. Therefore let no man glory 
in men" l If our contemporaries could only attain to the adoption of 
this great precept " let no man glory in men," they would have 
overleaped a barrier which as a fatal obstacle prevents myriads from 
understanding and obeying the truth. 

But while God lightly esteems the wisdom of the reputed wise, 
there is a wisdom which he invites all men to embrace. This is styled 
" the wisdom of God in a mystery;'" it is also termed " the hidden 
wisdom which God ordained before the world, which none of the 
princes of this world knew." It is said to be hidden in a mystery, 
because until the apostolic age, it was not clearly made known. This 
will appear from the following texts : — " now to him that is of power 
to establish you according to the revelation of the mystery, which 
was kept secret (xpovois aiwvioi^) in the times of the ages, but now (in 
the time, or age, of the apostles) is made manifest, and by the 
scriptures of the prophets made known to all nationsyb?* the obedience 
of faith." 2 " By revelation God made known unto me, Paul, the 
mystery, which in other ages (former ages under the law of Moses) 
was not made known unto the sons of men as it is now revealed unto 
the holy apostles and prophets by the spirit, that the Gentiles should 
be fellow heirs f and of the same body, and partakers of his promise 
in Christ by the gospel." 9 Here is "the knowledge of God," in 
which are contained " exceeding great and precious promises," the 
understanding of which is able to make a man wise, and " a partaker 
of the divine nature." Now, although these hidden things have 
been clearly made known, they still continued to be styled the 
mystery ; not because of their unintelligibility, but because they were 
once secret. Hence, the things preached unto the Gentiles, and by 
them believed, are styled by Paul, " the mystery of the faith," and 
" the mystery of godliness," some of the items of which he enume- 
rates ; such as, " God manifest in the flesh, justified by the spirit, 
seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, 
received up in glory."* Thus an intelligible mystery characterizes 
the once hidden wisdom of God, and becomes the subject matter of 
an enlightened faith. This, however, is not the case with regard to 
religious systems which are not of the truth. Unintelligible mystery 
is the ultima ratio for all difficulties which are insoluble by the 
symbols of ecclesiastical communities, whose text of universal appli- 
cation is, that " secret things belong to God, but the things which are 
revealed, to us and to our children." This is true; but, then, these 

' 1 Cor, ii, 9, 10, 13 ; iii., 18—21. * Rom, x\'u, 25, 26. 3 Eph, iii., 3, 6, 6, «1 Tim. ill, 9, 16. 

A 2 



4 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

things which were secret in the days of Moses, have been revealed by 
God to the apostles and prophets for our information. No one has 
any right to set up his own ignorance as the limit of what God hath 
revealed- A thing may be unknown to such a man, but it doth not 
therefore follow that it is either absolutely unintelligible or a secret. 
He may not know of it, or, if explained to him, he may not have 
intellect enough to comprehend it, or his prejudices, or sectarian biaa 
may darken his understanding — this by no means makes the thing 
unintelligible or mysterious to other people. All that such persons 
have a right to say is, u we do not know anything about it." They 
may confess their own ignorance, and resolve to look into the matter, 
or not ; but they are presumptuously overstepping the bounds of pro- 
priety to venture to do more. This, however, is not the practice of 
those who have no secondary interests to subserve apart from the 
truth. They only desire to know that they may believe and do ; 
but, where to know more, would jeopardize the u vested interests" of 
a sect, and extort the confession of its leaders and members, that 
they were in error and knew not the truth, investigation is discour- 
aged, and the things proscribed as too speculative and mysterious for 
comprehension, or, if understood, of no practical utility. In this way 
mankind infold themselves as in the mantle of their self-esteem. 
They repress all progress, and glorify their own ignorance by detract- 
ing from things which they fear to look into, or apprehend are far 
above their reach. 

Beside glorying in men, this unfortunate peculiarity of the human 
mind has developed the organisation of a system of things impiously 
hostile to the institutions and wisdom of Jehovah. It is a system of 
many subordinate parts. It is animated by one spirit which, under 
various modifications, pervades and actuates the whole. It is an evil 
spirit, and may be detected wherever the dogma of unintelligible 
mystery is at work. The name of this system is " Mystery." Its 
baneful effects began to be visible in the apostolic age. It was then 
styled, " the Mystery of Iniquity" which, as was predicted, has, 
like a cancre, eaten out the truth, and substituted in place thereof, a 
civil and ecclesiastical constitution, styled, " Harlots and the Abomi- 
nations of the Earth," such as we behold on every side. 

" Wisdom/' say the scriptures, "is the principal thing; therefore 
get wisdom ; and with all thy getting get understanding. Exalt her, 
and she shall promote thee : she shall bring thee to honour, when 
thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thy head an ornament of 
grace; a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee." If thou would'st, 
O reader, get this wisdom, happy art thou if thou findest it. " For 
the merchandize of it is better than the merchandize of silver, and 
the gain thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies, 
and all things thou canst desire are not to be compared to her. 
Length of days is in her right hand ; and in her left hand riches and 
honour. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are 
peace. She is a Tree of Life to them that lay hold upon her ; and 
happy is every one that retaineth her." 1 Before the Son of God sent 

• Prov. hi. 14—18. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 5 

forth his apostles to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom in his name, 
il He opened their understandings that they might understand the 
scriptures." If thou wouldst gain the knowledge of the wisdom of 
God which is so inestimable, and which is contained in the word they 
preached, thou must also be the subject of the same illumination. 
This is indispensable ; for there is no obtaining of this commodity 
except through the scriptures of truth. These u are able to make 
thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. For 
all scripture given by inspiration of God is also profitable for teach- 
ing, for conviction, for correction, for instruction in righteousness : 
that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all 
good works." 1 What more dost thou want than perfection, and a 
crown of life and glory in the age to come? Search the scriptures 
with the teachableness of a little child, and thy labour will not be in 
vain. Cast away to the owls and to the bats the traditions of men, 
and the prejudices indoctrinated into thy mind by their means; make 
a whole burnt offering of their creeds, confessions, catechisms, and 
articles of religion ; and, after the example of the Ephesian disciples, 
hand over your books of curious theological arts, and burn them 
before all. 2 These mountains of rubbish have served the purposes of 
a dark and barbarous age ; the word, the word of the living God 
alone, can meet the necessities of the times. Let the example of the 
noble-minded Bereans be ours. They searched the scriptures daily 
to see if the things taught by the apostle were worthy of belief; 
" therefore they believed/' 3 If then not even the preaching of an 
apostle was credited unaccompanied by scriptural investigation, is it 
not infinitely more incumbent on us that we should bring to a like 
test the opinions and precepts of the uninspired and fallible profes- 
sional theologists of our day ? Let us believe nothing that comes from 
u the pulpit," " the altar," or the press, not demonstrated by the gram- 
matical sense of the scriptures. Let us be contented with nothing less 
than a " thus it is written," and a il thus saith the Lord ;" for He has 
laid it down in his law, that no one is worthy of belief who does not 
speak after this rule. " To the law and to the testimony, if they 
speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in 
them." 4 If then their light be darkness, how great is that darkness. 

The scriptures can do every thing for us in relation to the light. 
This is known, felt, and keenly appreciated by all interested in the 
support of error. Hence, in the days of Diocletian, one of the pagan 
predecessors of Constantine, a decree was issued commanding the 
surrender of all copies of the Holy Scriptures : for it was found" that 
so long as they obtained circulation the christian doctrine could never 
be suppressed. The Popes, as deadly, and more insidious, enemies of 
the truth than the pagan Roman emperors, followed the example of 
Diocletian. The bible and popery are as mutually hostile as the light 
of the sun and the thick darkness of Egypt that might be felt. But 
it is not paganism and popery alone that are practically hostile to a 
"ree and untrammelled investigation of the word of God. The Pro- 
testant world, while it deludes itself with the conceit that " the Bible, 

Tim. iii. 15—17. 'Acts six. 19. 3 Acts xvii. 11, 12. * Isaiah viii. 20. 



5 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

the Bible alone, is the religion of protestants " — while it spends its 
thousands for its circulation among the nations in their native tongues, 
— is itself hostile to the belief and practice of what it proclaims. The 
"Bible alone" is not its religion ; for if it were, why incumber its pro- 
fessors with the " Common Prayer," Thirty-nine Articles, and all 
the other "notions'" of a similar kind ? To believe and practice the 
bible alone would be a sufficient ground of exclusion from all 
"orthodox churches." When Chiilingworth uttered the sentiment 
there was more truth in it than at this day ; but now it is as far from 
the fact as that protestantism is the religion of Christ. To protest 
against an error, such as Romanism, and to affirm that every man has 
a right to worship God according to the dictates of his own con- 
science, is a very different thing to believing and obeying the gospel 
of the kingdom of God, and walking in all the institutions of the 
Lord blameless. To do this would unchristianize a man in the esti- 
mation of state churches and sectarian denominations; for the bible 
religion requires a man to " contend earnestly for tlie faith once 
delivered to the saints," 1 which in these times cannot be done without 
upheaving the very foundations of the self-complacent, self-glorifying 
and self-laudatory communions of the antipapal constitution of things. 
It is true, that no man or power, has a right to interfere between God 
and the conscience ; but, it is also true, that no man has a right to 
worship God as he pleases. This is a Protestant fallacy. Man has a 
right to worship God only in the way God has himself appointed. 
" In vain do ye worship me teaching for doctrines the commandments 
of men." This is the judgment pronounced by the wisdom of God 
upon all worship which he has not instituted. He declares it to be 
vain worship ; concerning which the apostle to the Gentiles says, 
" Let no man judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holy- 
day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath ; let no man beguile you 
of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels. 
Be not subject to dogmatisms (^oyfiaTL^Qt) after the commandments 
and traditions of men ; which things have indeed a show of wisdom 
in will-worship and humility." 2 These exhortations apply to all 
faith and worship, papal and protestant. If popery judges men in 
meats, protestantism doth the same in drinks, and in the sabbath ; 
they both judge men in holy-days and "moveable feasts ;" and though 
protestantism repudiates the worshipping of angels, it proclaims in 
its'' fasts," " preparations," " concerts," &c, a voluntary humility, and 
celebration of " saints and martyrs," renowned in legendary tales for " the 
pride that apes humility." Let the reader search the scriptures from 
beginning to end, and he will nowhere find such systems of faith and 
worship as those comprehended in the papal and protestant systems. 
The gospel of the kingdom of God in the name of Jesus is not 
preached among them ; they are communions which are uncircum- 
cised of heart ; theological dissertations on texts, called "sermons,'* 
are substituted for " reasoning out of the scriptures" — for " expound, 
ing and testifying the kingdom of God, and persuading men concern, 
jng Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the Prophets ;"a 

» Jude 3. 'CoL ii. 16, 18. 3 Acts xxviii. 23, 31. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 7 

Puseyism, Swedenborgianism, and all sorts of isms, to which in 
apostolic times the world was a total stranger, run riot among them ; 
the lusts of the flesh, of the eye, and of the pride of life have extin- 
guished even the energy and zeal of the antipapal rebellion out of 
which they have arisen ; they are dead, twice dead, plucked up by 
the roots, and therefore the time is come to cut them off as a rotten 
branch from the good olive tree. 1 Let therefore every man that 
would eschew the wrath which is begun, and who would become an 
heir of the kingdom of God, save himself from the unholy, lifeless, 
and effete denominations of these " Latter Days." By remaining in 
them, a man partakes of their evil deeds, and subjects himself to their 
evil influences. The word of man has silenced the word of God in 
their midst ; and religion has degenerated into a professional commo- 
dity sold for cash according to the taste which most prevails in the 
soul-markets of the world. 

Let us then " cease from men, whose breath is in their nostrils, for 
wherein are they to be accounted of." " They be blind leaders of the 
blind " in whom is no light, because they speak not according to the 
law and the testimony of God. Let us repudiate their dogmatisms ; 
let us renounce their mysteries ; and let us declare our independence 
of all human authority in matters of faith and practice extra the 
word of God. The scriptures are able to make us wise, which the 
traditions of "divines" are not. Let us then come to these scriptures, 
for we have the assurance that he who seeks shall find ; though, we 
must also bear in mind, that " many shall seek to enter in but shall 
not be able." We must seek by the light of scripture, and not per- 
mit that light to be obscured by high thoughts and vain imaginations 
which exalt themselves against the knowledge of God. Great is the 
consolation that "the wise shall understand," and "shall shine as 
the brightness of the firmament ;" be this then our happiness, to 
understand, believe, and do, that we may be blessed in our deed, and 
attain to the glorious liberty and manifestation of the sons of God. 

To the Bible then let us turn, as to " a light shining in a dark 
place," and, with humility, teachableness, and independence of mind, 
let us diligently inquire into the things which it reveals for the obedi- 
ence and confirmation of faith. The object before us then will be, 
to present such a connected view of this truthful and wonderful book 
as will open the reader's eyes, and enable him to understand it, and 
expound it to others, that he may become " a workman that needeth 
not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth ;" and be able 
intelligently to " contend for the faith ;" and by " turning many to 
righteousness, to shine as the stars for ever and ever." In effecting 
this purpose, we must proceed as we would with any other book, or 
in teaching any of the arts and sciences; namely, begin at the 
beginning, or with the elements of things. This was the method 
adopted by the spirit of God in the instruction of the Israelites by 
Moses. He began his revelations by giving them, and us through 
them, an account of the creation of the heavens and the earth ; of 
animals ; and of man. This then would seem to be the proper place 

1 Romans zi. 17. 20, 22, 



8 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

for us to start from ; and as we have the system completely revealed, 
which they had not, we may extend our inquiries into the reason, or 
philosophy, of things farther than they. Be this then our commence- 
ment ; and may the Lord himself prosper our endeavours to decipher 
and understand his will and testament, and to disentangle them from 
the crude traditions and dogmatisms of contemporary theologies, use- 
ful in their beginning as " oppositions" to the Mystery of Iniquity, 
but now " waxed old and ready to vanish away " with the thing they 
have antagonized ; but which, though consumptive of the civil and 
ecclesiastical tyranny of the Image of the Beast, have by their glosses 
in effect taken from the people " the Key of Knowledge," and thus 
shut up the kingdom of heaven against men. Our endeavour will be 
to restore this "Key" that they may understand "the mysteries of the 
kingdom," and " have right to the tree of life, and enter in through the 
gates into the city." 1 And this we will do if God permit. 



CHAPTER II. 

The earth before the creation of Adam the habitation of the angels who kept noi 
their first estate — A geological error corrected — The Sabbath day and the Lord's 
day — The formation of man and woman — The " great mystery " of her formation 
out of man explained — Eden — The garden of Eden — The original and future para- 
dises considered— Man's primitive dominion confined to the inferior creatures and 
his own immediate family — Of the two trees of the garden — And man in his 

! original estate. 



The general account of the work of the six days is contained in the 
first chapter of Genesis; while in the second is presented, among 
other things, a more particular narrative of the work of the sixth day 
in the formation of the first human pair. 

Let the reader peruse the history of the creation as a revelation to 
himself as an inhabitant of the earth. It informs him of the order in 
which the things narrated would have developed themselves to his 
view, had he been placed on some projecting rock, the spectator of 
the events detailed. He must remember this. The Mosaic account 
is not a revelation to the inhabitants of other orbs remote from the 
earth of the formation of the boundless universe ; but to man, as a 
constituent of the terrestrial system. This will explain why light is 
said to have been created four days before the sun, moon, and stars. 
To an observer on the earth, this was the order of their appearance; 
and in relation to him a primary creation, though absolutely pre- 
existent for millions of ages before the Adamic Era. 

The duration of the earth's revolutions round the sun previous to 

» Kev. xxii. 14. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 9 

the work of the first day is not revealed; but the evidences produced 
by the strata of our globe show that the period was long continued. 
There are indeed hints, casually dropped in the scriptures, which 
would seem to indicate, that our planet was inhabited by a race of 
beings anterior to the formation of man. The apostle Peter, speaking 
of the " false teachers " that would arise among Christians " by reason 
of whom the way of truth would be evil spoken of/* illustrates the 
certainty of their "damnation" by citing three cases in point; namely, 
that of certain angels ; that of the antediluvian world ; and that of 
Sodom and Gomorrha. Now the earth, we know, was the place of 
judgment to the contemporaries of Noah and Lot, and seeing that 
these three are warnings to inhabitants of earth, it is probable, that 
they are all related to things pertaining to our globe in the order of 
their enumeration-^— first, judgment upon its pre-Adameral inhabitants; 
secondly, upon the antediluvian world, which succeeded them ; and 
thirdly, upon Sodom after the flood. 

Peter says, that " the Angels,'* or pre-Adameral inhabitants of the 
Earth, " sinned ;" and Jude, in speaking of the same subject, reveals 
to us the nature of their transgression. He says, verse 6, " the angels 
maintained not their original state, but forsook their own habitation.*' 
From which it would appear, that they had the ability to leave their 
dwelling if they pleased; secondly, that they were sometimes em- 
ployed as messengers to other parts of the universe ; this their name 
(ayytXos, aggelos, one sent) implies : thirdly, that they were forbidden 
to leave their habitation without special command to do so ; and 
fourthly, that they violated this injunction and left it. Having trans- 
gressed the divine law, God would not forgive them ; u but casting 
them down," or driving them back, " he committed them to everlast- 
ing chains of intense darkness to be reserved for judgment." 1 Hence, 
it is clear, when they were driven back to their habitation, some fur- 
ther catastrophy befel them by which their committal to darkness was 
effected. This probably consisted in the total wreck of their abode, 
and their entire submergence, with all (he mammoths of their estate, 
under the waters of an overwhelming flood. Reduced to this extre- 
mity, the earth became " without form and empty ; and darkness 
overspread the deep waters.*' 2 Its mountains, hills, valleys, plains, 
seas, rivers, and fountains of waters, which gave diversity of "form" 
to the surface of our globe, all disappeared ; and it became u void" 
or empty, no living creatures, angels, quadrupeds, birds, or fishes, 
being found any more upon it. Fragments, however, of the wreck 
of this pre-Adameral world have been brought to light by geological 
research, to the records of which we refer the reader, for a detailed 
account of its discoveries, with this remark, that its organic n mains, 
coal fields, and strata, belong to the ages before the formation of man, 
rather than to the era of the creation, or the Noachic flood. This 
view of the matter will remove a host of difficulties, which have 
hitherto disturbed the harmony between the conclusions of geologists 
and the Mosaic account of the physical constitution of our globe. 

Geologists have endeavoured to extend the six days into six thou • 

1 2 Peter ii. 4. 2 Genesis i. 1. 



10 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

sand years. But this, with the scriptural data we have adduced, is 
quite unnecessary. Instead of six thousand, they can avail themselves 
of sixty thousand ; for the scriptures reveal no length of time during 
which the terrene angels dwelt upon our globe. The six days or 
Genesis were unquestionably six diurnal revolutions of the earth upon 
its axis. This is clear from the tenor of the Sabbath law. " Six 
days shalt thou labour (O Israel) and do all thy work : but the 
seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God : in it thou shalt not 
do any work : for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the 
sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day : wherefore 
the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.'' Would it be 
any fit reason that, because the Lord worked six periods of a thou- 
sand or more years each, and had ceased about two thousand until the 
giving of the law, therefore the Israelites were to work six periods of 
twelve hours, and do no work on a seventh period or day of like 
duration ? Would any Israelite or Gentile, unspoiled by vain philoso* 
phy, come to the conclusion of the geologists by reading the sabbath 
law ? We believe not. Six days of ordinary length were ample 
time for Omnipotence with all the power of the universe at command 
to re-form the earth, and to place the few animals upon it necessary 
for the beginning of a new order of things upon the globe. 

But what is to become of the Evil Angels in everlasting chains of 
darkness, and who shall be their judge? Jude says, they were com- 
mitted " for the judgment of the Great Day." He alludes to this 
great day in his quotation of the prophecy of Enoch, saying, " Be- 
hold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his Holy Ones (angels 
of his might, 1 Thess. 1. 7) to execute judgment upon all, &c." This 
coming of the Lord to judgment is termed by Paul *' the Day of 
Christ''— " A day in which he will judge the world in righteousness 
by Jesus Christ " — during which, the saints, with angels ministering 
to them, having lived again, will reign with Christ a thousand years 
on the earth. 1 This is the Great Day of Judgment, a period of one 
thousand years, in which Christ and his saints will govern the nations 
righteously ; judge the raised dead in his kingdom according to their 
works ; and award to the rebel angels the recompense awaiting their 
transgression. " Know ye not," saith Paul, " that we (the saints) 
shall judge angels? How much more things that pertain to this 
life ?" 2 From these data, then, we conclude that these angels will be 
judged in the Day of Christ by Jesus and the saints. 

In the period between the wreck of the globe as the habitation of 
the rebel angels and the epor.-h of the first day, the earth was as 
described in Genesis i. 2, " without form and void, and darkness upon 
the face of the deep," — a globe of mineral structure, submerged in 
water, and mantled in impenetrable night. Out of these crude mate- 
rials, a new habitation was constructed, and adapted to the abode of 
new races of living creatures. On the first day, light was caused to 
shine through the darkness, and disclose the face of the waters ; on 
the second, the atmosphere called Heaven, was formed, by which the 
fog was enabled to float in masses above the de*p ; on the third, the 

» S Thess. ii. 2 ; Acts xvlii. 31 ; Rev. v 10 ; xx. 4. 11— 1&, » I Cor. vi. 3. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WOULD. 11 

waters were gathered together into seas, and the dry, called the Earth, 
appeared. It was then clothed with verdure, and with fruit and 
forest trees, preparatory to the introduction of herbivorous creatures 
to inhabit it. On the fourth day, the expanded atmosphere became 
transparent, and the shining orbs of the universe could be seen from 
the surface of the earth. Our globe was then placed in such astro~ 
nomical relation to them as to be subjected by their influences to the 
vicissitudes of day and night, summer and winter ; and that they 
might serve for signs, and for years. Thus, the sun, moon, and stars 
which God had made, by giving the earth's axis a certain inclination 
to the plane of the ecliptic, became diffusive of the most genial 
influences over the land and sea. It was now a fit and beautiful abode 
for animals of every kind. The dwelling place was perfected, well 
aired, and gloriously illuminated by the lights of heaven ; food was 
abundantly provided ; and the mansional estate waited only a joyous 
tenantry to be complete. 

This was the work of the fifth and sixth days. On the fifth, fish 
and water-fowl were produced from the teeming waters ; and on the 
sixth, cattle, reptiles, land-fowl, and the beasts of the earth, came out 
of " the dust of the ground," male and female, after their several 
kinds. 1 

But among all these there was not one fit to exercise dominion over 
the animal world, or to reflect the divine attributes. Therefore, the 
Elohim said, " Let us make man in our image, after our likeness ; 
and let them have dominion over the living creatures." So Elohim 
created man in his image ; male and female created he them. Fur- 
ther details concerning the formation of the human pair are given in 
the second chapter of Genesis, verses 7, 18, 21 — 25. These passages 
belong to the work of the sixth day ; while that from verse 8 to 14 
pertains to the record of the third ; and from 15 to 17 is parallel with 
chapter i. 28 — 31, which completes the history of the sixth. 

'*' Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of 
them;" and the Jehovah Elohim, on reviewing the stupendous and 
glorious creation elaborated by the Spirit, pronounced it " very good." 
Then the Elohim, or " Morning Stars sang together, and all the Sons 
of God shouted for joy." 2 

OF THE SABBATH DAY AND THE LORD'S DAY. 
On the seventh day, which was neither longer nor shorter than the 
days which preceded it, " God ended his work which he had made f* 
and because of this notable event, " he blessed and sanctified it." A 
day is blessed, because of what is or will be imparted t© those who are 
2ommanded to observe it. The sanctification of the day implies the 
setting of it apart that it might be kept in some way different from 
other days. The manner of its original observance may be inferred 
from the law concerning it when it was enjoined upon the Israelites. 
To them it was said, " remember the sabbath day to keep it holy." 
If it be asked, how was it to be kept holy ? the answer is, " in it thou 
shalt not do any work, thou, nor any one or thing belonging to thee ;" 

'Gen. i. 20—25; ii. 19. 'Job xxxYiii. 4—7. 



12 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

and the reason for this total abstinence from work is referred to the 
Lord's own example in that " he rested the seventh day." The na- 
ture of its observance in the ages and generations, and the recompense 
thereof, is well expressed in the words of Isaiah; —"if thou turn 
away thy foot from the sabbath from doing thy pleasure on my holy 
day ; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honor- 
able ; and shalt honor him not doing thine own ways, nor finding 
thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words : then shalt thou 
delight thyself in the Lord, and I will cause thee to ride upon the 
high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy 
father ; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." 1 In this passage 
the conditions are stated upon which faithful Israelites might inherit 
the blessing typified by the rest of the seventh day. They were joy- 
fully to devote themselves to the way of the Lord. They were not 
simply to abstain from work, yawning and grumbling over the tedious- 
ness of the day, and wishing it were gone, that they might return to 
their ordinary course of life; but they were to esteem it as a delightful, 
holy, and honorable day. Their pleasure was to consist in doing 
what the Lord required, and in talking of " the exceeding great and 
precious promises" he had made. To do this was "not speaking 
their own words," but the Lord's words. Such an observance as 
this, however, of the sabbath day, implies a faithful mind and a 
gracious disposition as the result of knowing the truth. Neither ante- 
diluvian nor postdiluvian could " call the sabbath a delight," who 
was either ignorant or faithless of the import of the promise " thou 
shalt delight thyself in the Lord, and ride upon the high places of the 
earth, and feed with the heritage of Jacob." A man who simply 
looked at the seventh day as a sabbath in which he was inter- 
dicted from pleasures, and conversation agreable to him, and from 
the money making pursuits in which he delighted, would regard 
the day more as a weekly punishment, than as joyous and honorable. 
Though he might mechanically abstain from work, he did not 
keep it so as to be entitled to the blessing which belonged to the 
observance of the day to the Lord. It was irksome to him, be- 
cause being faithless he perceived no reward in keeping it ; and 
" without faith it is impossible to please God." 

The reward to antediluvian, and postdiluvian patriarchs and Israel- 
ites, for a faithful observance, or commemoration of Jehovah's rest 
from his creation-work, was " delight in the Lord, riding upon 
the high places of the earth, and feeding with the heritage of 
Jacob." This was neither more nor less than a promise of in- 
heriting the kingdom of God, which is a summary of "the things 
hoped for and the things unseen," or the subject matter of the faith 
that pleases God. When that kingdom is established all who are 
accounted worthy of it will " delight or joy in the Lord ;" and occupy 
" the high places of the earth," ruling over the nations as his associate 
kings and priests ; and share in the " new heavens and earth," in 
which dwells righteousness, when Jerusalem shall be made a rejoicing, 
and her people Israel a joy. 2 The knowledge and belief of these 

I Isaiah lviii. 13, 14. * Matt. xxv. 33, 84 ; Rev. ii. 26, 27 ; iii. 21 ; v. 9, 10; xx. 4; Dan. vii. 18, 
22, 27 ; Isaiah lxv. 17, 18. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 13 

Jhings was the powerful and transforming motive which caused 
Abel, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, &c, to " call the sabbath a delight, 
holy of the Lord, and honorable;" and to observe it as the sons of 
Belial cannot possibly do. But while this was the motive, even faith, 
which actuated the sons of God in their keeping holy the seventh day, 
Jehovah did not permit the faithless to transgress or desecrate it with 
impunity. We know not what penalty, if any, was attached to its 
violation before the flood ; but its desecration under the Mosaic consti- 
tution was attended with signal and summary vengeance, as will appear 
from the following testimonies : — 

1. "And the Lord spake unto Moses^ saying, speak thou unto 
the children of Israel, saying, verily my sabbaths ye shall keep : 
for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; 
that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you. Ye shall 
keep the sabbath therefore : for- it is holy unto you. Every one that 
deflleth it shall surely be put to death : for whosoever doeth any work 
therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days 
may work be done, but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy 
to the Lord ; whosoever doeth any work on the sabbath day shall surely 
be put to death. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the 
sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a per- 
petual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel 
for ever; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on 

the seventh day he rested and was refreshed." 1 

2. u Remember, O Israel, that thou wast a servant in the land 
of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence 
through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm ; therefore the 
Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day." 2 

3. " Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there 
shall be to you a holy day, a sabbath of rest to the Lord : whosoever 
doeth work therein shall be put to death. Ye shall kindle no fire 
throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day." 5 

4. " And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they 
found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day. And they 
that found bim gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, 
and unto all the congregation. And they put him in ward, because 
it was not declared what should be done to him. And the Lord said 
unto Moses, the man shall be surely put to death : all the congre- 
gation shall stone him with stones without the camp. And all the 
congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with 
stones, and he died ; as the Lord commanded Moses." 4 

5. " Thus saith the Lord ; take heed to yourselves, and bear no 
burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem : 
neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day 
neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I com- 
manded your fathers. And it shall come to pass if ye diligently 
hearken unto me, saith the Lord, to bring in no burden through the 
gates of this city on the sabbath day, to do no work therein : then 
sliall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting 

1 Exodus xxxi. 12—17. 2 Deut. v. 15. 3 Exodus xxxv. 2, 3. 4 Numb. xv. 32—36. 



14 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and upon horses, they, 
and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusa- 
lem : and this city shall remain for ever. And they shall come from 
the cities of Judah, and from the places about Jerusalem, and from the 
land of Benjamin, and from the plain, and from the mountains, 
and from the south, bringing burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and 
meat offerings, and incense, and bringing sacrifices of praise, unto 
the temple of the Lord. But if ye will not hearken unto me to 
hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering 
in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day ; then will I kindle 
a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusa- 
lem, and it shall not be quenched." 1 

6. " Abide ye every man in his tent, let no man go out of his 
place on the seventh day. So the people rested on the seventh day." 2 

From these testimonies it is clear that it was unlawful for servants 
in the families of Israel to light fires, cook dinners, harness horses, 
drive out families to the synagogues, or priests to the temple to offi- 
ciate in the service ot the Lord. The visiting of families on the 
sabbath day, the ? taking of excursions for health or for preaching, 
and conversing about worldly or family, or any kind of secular 
affairs, was also illegal, and punishable with death. The law, it will 
be observed also, had regard to the seventh, and ■ to no other day of 
the week. It was lawful to do all these things on the first or eighth 
day (some particular ones however excepted), but not on the seventh. 
On this day, however, it was u lawful to do good ;" but then this 
good was not arbitrary. Neither the priests nor the people were the 
judges of the good or evil, but the law only which defined it. H On 
the sabbath days the priests in the temple profaned the sabbath, and 
were blameless ;" 3 for the law enjoined them to offer " two lambs of 
the first year without spot as the burnt-offering of every sabbath." 4 
This was a profanation of the seventh-day law, which prohibited 
" any work" from being done ; and had not God commanded it they 
would have been lt guilty of death." It was upon this ground that 
Jesus was " guiltless ;" for he did the work of God on that day in 
healing the sick as the Father had commanded him. 

" The sabbath was made for man and not man for the sabbath : 
therefore," said Jesus, " the Son of Man is Lord also of the sabbath 
day." 5 It was a wise and beneficent institution. It prevented the 
Israelites from wearing out themselves and their dependants by inces- 
sant toil ; and revived in them a weekly remembrance of the law and 
promises of God. It was, however, only " a shadow of things to 
come" the substance of which is found in the things which pertain to 
the Anointed One of God. 6 It was a part of " the rudiments of the 
world " inscribed on il the handwriting of ordinances that was against 
us, which was contrary to us," and which the Lord Jesus l( took out 
of the way, nailing it to his cross." When he lay entombed he rested 
from his labours, abiding in his place all the seventh day. Having 
ended his work, he arose on the eighth day, " and was refreshed." 

» Jer. xvii. 21—27. « Exodus xvi. 29. a Matt. xii. 5. * Numb, xxviii. 9, 10. * Mark ii. ft 
6 Col. ii. 16, 17 ; and 14. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 15 

The shadowy sabbath disappeared before the brightness of the rising 
of the sun of righteousness ; who, having become the accursed of the 
law, delivered his brethren from its sentence upon all. 

The ordinances of the law of Moses are styled by Paul " the rudi- 
ments," or "elements of the world," which, in Galatians, he also terms 
" weak and beggarly elements, whereunto they desired again to be in 
bondage." They evinced this desire by "observing days, and months, 
and times, and years;" 1 not being satisfied with the things of Christ, but 
seeking to combine the Mosaic institutions with the gospel. This was 
Judaizing, and the first step to that awful apostacy by which the world 
has been cursed for so many ages. When the Mosaic constitution, as 
" the representation of the knowledge and the truth," had "waxed 
old " by the manifestation of the substance to a sufficient extent to 
nullify it, it " vanished away " by being ?.' cast down to the ground " 
by the Roman>power, and with it the law of the seventh day. Even 
before its abolition, Paul expressed his fear of the Galatians " lest he 
should have bestowed labour upon them in vain," seeing that they 
were becoming zealous of the ordinances of the law. They seemed 
not to understand that the Mosaic economy was only a temporary 
constitution .of things, " added because of transgressions, till the seed 
should come;" that when he came, " he redeemed them from the curse 
of the law, being made a curse for them ;" and that therefore they 
had nothing to fear, nor to hope for from keeping, or transgressing 
its commands. They had got it into their heads that " except they 
were circumcised and kept the law of Moses, as well as believed and 
obeyed the gospel of the kingdom, they could not be saved." 2 There- 
fore they " desired to be under the law" and began to busy themselves 
about "keeping the sabbath," and doing other works which Moses 
had enjoined upon Israel. Paul was very much distressed at this, 
and describes himself as " travailing in birth again until Christ be 
formed in them." They had been delivered from "the yoke of bond- 
age'* by putting on Christ; but by seeking to renew their connexion 
with Moses' law, they were selling their birth-right for a mess of 
pottage. "I say unto you," saith Paul, " that if ye be circumcised, 
Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man 
that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ is 
become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the 
law ; ye are fallen from grace." A partial observance of the law can 
do no one any ,gooa. If he kept the sabbath in the most approved 
manner, but neglected the sacrifices/ or eat swine's flesh, he was as 
accursed as a thief or a robber; for to one under the law it saith, 
" Cursed is every ^one that continueth not in all things which are 
written in the book of the law to do them ;" hence even the sinless 
Jesus was cursed by it, because he was crucified ; for it is written, 
" Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree." 3 What hope then is 
there for Jew or Gentile of escaping the curse of the law, seeing chat 
from the very nature of things connected with the present state of 
Jerusalem it is impossible to observe it, save in the few particulars of 
" meat and drink, or in respect of the sabbath partially," &c. The 

' Gal. fv. 3, 5, 9, 10. * Acts xv. 1, 5. * Gal, iii., iv., v. 4. 



16 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

observance of the seventh day was regulated by the Mosaic law, and 
the penalties due to its u desecration," or " profanation/' are pro- 
nounced by it alone ; but, it is clear, that the law being taken out of 
the way, or abolished, by Jesus who nailed = it to his cross, there 
remain no more retributions for the non-observance of its appoint- 
ments ; and therefore there is no transgression in working or pleasure 
taking, or in speaking one's own words on the .seventh day. 

On the first day of the creation-week God said, " Let there be 
light, and there was light ;" so on the first day of the week " the 
true light " came forth from the darkness of the tomb " like dew 
from the womb of the morning." This event constituted the day 
after the sabbath, or eighth day, the day of the Lord's resurrection ; 
and therefore styled by his disciples " the lord's day." It is a day 
to be much remembered by them, because it assures them of their 
justification Ci in him," of their own resurrection to life, and of the 
certainty of his ruling or "judging the world in righteousness" as 
Jehovah's king, when they also shall reign with him as kings and 
priests to God. 1 This day is also notable on account of the special 
interviews which occurred between Jesus and his disciples after his 
resurrection. 2 He ascended to heaven on this day, even the forty-third 
from his crucifixion ; and seven days after, that is the fiftieth, being 
that Lord's day styled * the day of Pentecost," the gift of the Holy 
Spirit was poured out upon the apostles, and the gospel of the kingdom 
preached for the first time in his name. 

Power being in the hands of their enemies the christians of the 
Hebrew nation still continued to observe the seventh day according to 
the custom. Hence we find the apostles frequenting the synagogues 
on the sabbath days and reasoning with the people out of the scrip- 
tures. 3 To have done otherwise would have been to create an unneces- 
sary prejudice, and to let slip one of the best opportunities of intro- 
ducing the gospel to the attention of the Jewish public. They did not 
forsake the synagogues until they were expelled. While they fre- 
quented these, however, on the seventh day, they assembled themselves 
together with the disciples whose assemblies constituted the churches 
of the saints and of God. They ordained elders over these societies, 
and " taught them to observe all things whatsoever Jesus had com- 
manded them." 4 In his letter to the Hebrew christians he exhorts 
them H not to forsake the assembling of themselves together " 5 Such 
an exhortation as this implies a stated time and place of assembly. On 
what day, then, did the churches of the saints meet to exhort one 
another so as to provoke to love and to good works ? Certainly not 
on the seventh day, for then the apostles were in the synagogues. 
What day then more appropriate than the Lord's day, or first, day of 
the week ? Now it cannot be affirmed that the saints were commanded 
to meet on this day, because there is no testimony to that effect in the 
New Testament. But, it is beyond dispute, that they did assemble 
themselves together on the first day of the week, and the most reason- 
able inference is that they did so in obedience to the instruction of the 

» Bom. iv. 25 ; viii. 11 ; 1 Cor. xv. 14, 20 ; Acts xvii. 31 ; Rev. v. 9, 10. 2 John xx. 19, 26. 
3 Acts xvii. 2, 17 ; xviii. 4 ; xix. 8. * Ma**, xxviii. 20 ; Acts ii. 42; xiv. 22, 23. s Heb. x. 25. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 17 

apostles from whose teaching they derived all their faith and practice, 
which constituted them the disciples of Jesus. 

To keep the first day of the week to the Lord is possible only 
for the saints. There is no law, except the emperor Constantine's, 
that commands sinners to keep lioly the first, or eighth, day, or 
Sunday as the Gentiles term it. For a sinner to keep this day unto 
the Lord he must become one of the Lord's people. He must believe 
the gospel of the kingdom and name of Christ, and become obedient 
to it, before any religious service he can offer will be accepted. He 
must come under law to Christ by putting on Christ before he can 
keep the Lord's day. Having become a christian, if he would keep 
the day to the Lord, he must assemble with a congregation of New- 
Testament saints, and assist in edifying and provoking them to love 
and good works, in showing forth the death of Jesus, in givino- 
thanks to the Father, in celebrating the resurrection of Christ, and in 
praising and blessing God. Under the gospel, or " law of liberty," 
he is subjected to no ''yoke of bondage" concerning a sabbath dav. 
It is his delight when an opportunity presents, to celebrate in this way 
the day of the resurrection. He requires no penal statutes to compel 
him to a formal and disagreeable self-denial, or " duty ;" for it is his 
meat and drink to do the will of his father who is in heaven. 

The law of Moses was delivered to the Israelites and not to the 
Gentiles, who were therefore " without the law." " What things 
soever the law saith, it says to them who are under the law ;" conse- 
quently the nations were not amenable to it; and though they 
obtained not the blessings of Mount Gerizim (unless they became 
faithful Jews by adoption), neither were they obnoxious to the curses 
of Mount Ebal. 1 The faithless Jews and Gentiles are equally aliens 
from the precepts of Christ and his apostles. What these prescribe is 
enjoined upon the disciples of Jesus. They only are " under law to 
Christ." " What have I/' says Paul, ''to do to judge them that are 
without ? God judgeth them." 2 He has caused the gospel of the 
kingdom to be preached to sinners u for the obedience of faith." 
When they are judged, it will be for " not obeying the gospel of the 
Lord Jesus Christ," 3 and not because they do not *' go to church," or 
do not keep a sabbath instituted by a semi-pagan emperor of the 
fourth century. The sabbath God requires sinful men to observe is 
to cease from the works of the flesh, as completely as he rested from 
the work of creation on the seventh day, that they may enter into 
the millennial rest that remaineth for the people of God. 4 

Men frequently err in their speculations from inattention to the 
marked distinction which subsists in the scriptures between those 
classes of mankind termed "saints" and "sinners." They confound 
what is said to, or concerning, the one, with what is said in relation to 
the other. Relatively to the institutions of God they are as near or 
afar off as are "citizens" and "foreigners" to the laws and constitu- 
tion of the United States. " What the law saith, it saith to them who 
are under the law." This is a principle laid down by Paul con- 
cerning the law of Moses, which is equally true of the codes of all 

i Deut. xxvii. 9— 26. ' 1 Cor. v. 12, 13. ' 2 Thess. i. 7— 10. « Heb. iv. 9—11. 

B 



18 RUDIMENTS OP THE WORLD. 

aations. " Citizens n are the saints, or separated ones, of the par- 
ticular code by which they are insulated from all other people ; while 
•• foreigners " or " aliens" from their commonwealth are sinners in 
relation to it; for they live in other countries in total disregard of its 
institutions, and doing contrary to its laws, and yet are blameless: so 
that if they were to visit the country of that commonwealth, they 
would not be punished for their former course, because they were not 
under law to it. Let them, however, while sojourning there continue 
their native customs, and they would become guilty and worthy of the 
punishment made and provided for iuch offenders. It is a fact, that 
•' God blessed and sanctified," or set apart, "the seventh day ;" and 
doubtless, Adam and his wife rested, or intermitted, their horticultural 
tendance upon that da}'. Yea, we may go further and say, that it is 
extremely probable that "the sons of God" before the flood, wor- 
shipped God according to "his way" upon that day; but in all the 
history of that long period, which intervened from the .sanctifi cation of 
the seventh day to the raining down bread from heaven for the Israel- 
ites in the wilderness, 1 there is not the least hint of any punishment 
for breaking the sabbath day* Guiltiness before God cannot there- 
fore be argued against the Gentiles so as to entitle them to death or 
reprobation, predicated on the threatenings of the patriarchal code. 
Whatever the appointment might be, it was no doubt significative of 
the blessings to be obtained through observing it ; not alone, but in 
connexion with the other matters which made up " the way of God." 

As I have shown, the observance of the seventh day was obligatory 
only upon the Israelites so long as the Mosaic code was in force, being 
" a sign " between God and them. The sabbaths belong to the land 
and people of Israel, and can be only kept according to the law 
while they reside in the country. This will appear from the fact that 
the law requires that " two lambs of the first year without spot " 
should be offered with other things " as the burnt-offering of every 
sabbath;" an offering which, like all the offerings, &c, must be offered 
in a temple in Jerusalem where the Lord has placed his name, and 
not in the dwelling places of Jacob. Israel must therefore be restored 
to their own country before even they can keep the sabbath. Then, 
when " the throne is established in mercy ; and he (the Lord Jesus) 
shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and 
seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness," 2 then, I say, " shall 
the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of 
my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, come 
near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to 
offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord God : and they 
shall hallow my sabbaths."* 

But these sabbaths will be no longer celebrated on the seventh day. 
They will be changed from the seventh to the eighth, or first day of 
the week, which are the same. The " dispensation of the fulness of 
limes"* popularly styled the Millennium, will be the antitype, or 
substance, of the Mosaic feast of tabernacles which was " a shadow 
of things to come." In this type, or pattern, Israel were to rejoice before 

. i Exodus xri. » Isaiah xr\. t. • Ezek. rliv. 15, 24. * Ephes. i. 10. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WOULD. 



19 



the Lord for seven days, beginning "on the fifteenth day of the 
seventh month, when they had gathered the fruit of the land." In 
relation to the first day of the seven, the law says, " it shall be a holy 
convocation : ye shall do no servile work therein ." This was what we 
call Sunday. The statute then continues, " on ike eighth day," 'also 
Sunday, " shall be a holy convocation unto you, and ye shall offer an 
offering made by fire unto the Lord : it is a solemn assembly ; and ye 
shall do no servile work therein." Again, " on the first day shall be 
a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath." 1 Thus, in 
this "pattern of things in the heavens " the first and eighth days are 
constituted holy days in which no work was to be done. It also re- 
presents the palm-bearing or victorious ingathering of the twelve tribes 
of Israel from their present dispersion to the land of their fathers, 
" when the Lord shall set his hand a second time to recover the rem- 
nant of his people." 2 Three times in four verses does Zechariah style 
the yearly going up of the Gentiles to Jerusalem to worship the king, 
the Lord of Hosts, there, the keeping of the feast of tabernacles ; 3 an 
event which is consequent upon the destruction of the dominion repre- 
sented by Nebuchadnezzar's image, and the re-establishment of the 
kingdom and throne of David. This national confluence of the Gen- 
tiles to Jerusalem is characteristic of Messiah's times ; and of the true 
or real festival of tabernacles, when he will "confess to God among the 
Gentiles, and sing unto his name," and " they shall rejoice with his 
people," Israel. 4 Referring to this time, the Lord says, " the place 
of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell 
in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name 
shall the House of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, 
by their whoredom, nor by the carcasses of their kings in their high 
places. * * * they have even defiled rny holy name by their 
abominations that they have committed : wherefore I have consumed 
them in mine anger. Now let them put away their whoredom, and 
the carcasses of their kings, far from me, and / wiU dwell in the 
m.idst of them for ever*" 6 This is clearly a prophecy of what shall 
be hereafter, because the House of Israel still continues to defile God's 
holy name by their abominations; but when this comes to pass they 
shall defile it " no more" 

After the declaration of these things, Ezekiel is commanded to show 
them the description of the temple which is destined to be " the house 
of prayer for all nations," with the ordinances, forms, and laws thereof. 
The Lord God then declares, •' the ordinances of the altar in the day 
when they shall make it" and when the Levites of the seed of Zadok shall 
approach unto him. The " cleansing of the altar," and the consecra- 
tion of the priests, is then effected by the offerings of seven days, "And 
when these days are expired, it shall be, that upon the eighth day, and 
so forward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings upon the 
altar, and your peace offerings ; and I will accept you, O Israel, saith 
the Lord." 6 Thus the Lord's day, the day of his resurrection from 
his seventh-day incarceration in the tomb, becomes the sabbath day of 

Lev. xxiii, 34—43, 2 i^ah x j, u. 3 Zech. xiv. 16—19. * Rom. xv, 9, 10. * Ezek, xliii. 7—9. 

* verse 27, 

B 2 



20 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

the future age which shall be hollowed by the priests of Israel, and 
be observed by all nations as a day of holy convocation in which they 
shall rejoice, and do no manner of servile work at all. 

This change of the sabbath from the seventh to the eighth, or first, 
day of the week, is the full development and establishment of the 
observance of the Lord's day by the disciples of Jesus since the times 
of the apostles. Constantine, though not a christian himself, paid 
homage to the truth so far as to compel the world to respect the day 
on which Christ Jesus rose from the dead. Hence, in 328, he 
ordained that the day should be kept religiously, which a judaizing 
clergy construed into a sabbatical observance according to the Mosaic 
law concerning the seventh day. This is the origin of that Sabbata- 
rianism which so ludicrously, yet mischievously, illustrates the Blue 
Laws of Connecticut, 1 the zeal of the Agnews and Plumptres of the 
House of Commons, and the rhapsodies of the pietists of the passing 
day. These well-meaning persons, whose zeal outruns their know- 
ledge, seem not to be aware that Christ and his apostles did not pro- 
mulge a civil and ecclesiastical code for the nations, when they 
preached the gospel of the kingdom. Their object was not to give 
them laws and constitutions ; but to separate a peculiar people from 
the nations who should afterwards rule them justly and in the fear of 
the Lord, when the dispensation of the fulness of times should be 
introduced. 2 To be able to do this, these peculiars were required to 
be " holy, unblameable, and unreprovable before God." 3 To this end 
instructions were delivered to them, that under the divine tuition 
''they might be renewed in the spirit of their mind; and put on the 
new man which after God's image is created in righteousness and true 
holiness." As for " those without" "who receive not the love of the 
truth, that they might be saved, God sent them a strong delusion, 
that they should believe a lie," 4 as a punishment. They are left to 
govern themselves by their own laws until the time arrives for Christ 
to take away their dominion and assume the sovereignty over them 
conjointly with "the people of the saints." If they please to impose 
upon themselves yokes of bondage, binding themselves to keep the 
first day of the week according to the Mosaic law of the seventh day, 
they .are left at liberty to do so. But for this act of "voluntary 
humility" they are entitled to no recompense from God, seeing that 
he has not required it of them. The rewards due for observing a 
judaized Lord's day voluntarily inflicted upon themselves ; or, the 
pains and penalties to which they may be entitled for its '* profana- 
tion," are such, and such only, as result from the will and pleasure of 
the unenlightened lawgivers of the nations. It is a wise regulation to 
decree a cessation from labour and toil for man and beast during one 
day in seven ; but it betrays egregious misunderstanding of the scrip- 
tures, and singular superstition to proclaim perdition to men's souls in 
flaming brimstone, if they do not keep it according to the Mosaic law 
of the seventh day. All I need say in conclusion is, that if it be 
necessary to keep Sunday as the Jews were required to keep Saturday 

1 By these a woman was forbidden to kiss her child on the sabbath t 2 Acts xv. J4 ; 1 Cor. vi. 2 \ 
x Sam. wiii. 3, 4 ; Titui ii. II. * Col. L 22, 23 ; 1 Thess. ii. 19 j hi. 13>. * 2 Thew. ii. 10—18, 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 21 

fty the law of Moses, then those who make so much ado atxfrit sab- 
bath-breaking are themselves as guilty as those they denounce for 
the unholy and profane. " He that offendeth in one point is guilty 
of the whole.*' If they do not keep open shop, or perambulate the 
parks and fields, or take excursions, or go to places of public resort 
and amusement on the Lord's day — yet, they light fires in their dwell- 
ings and meeting houses, they entertain their friends at comfortable 
warm dinners, drive to church in splendid equipages, annoy the sick 
and distract the sober-minded with noisy bells, bury the dead, speak 
their own words, &c. — all of which is a violation of the divine law 
which saith, " thou shalt not do any work, thy man-servant, nor thy 
maid-servant, nor thy cattle ;" and " thou shalt not speak thine own 
words." This would certainly put to silence nearly all the preachers 
of the day ; whose " sermons," when made by themselves, are em- 
phatically their own in thoughts and words without dispute. It is 
not only ridiculous, but down right pharisaism, the fuss that is made 
about breaking the sabbath. Let the zealots " first cast the beam 
out of their own eyes ; and then will they see clearly to cast out the 
mote from the eyes of others." If they would " keep the day to the 
Lord," let them believe and obey the gospel of the kingdom in the 
name of Jesus ; and then " continue stedfastly in the apostles' doc- 
trine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers " 1 on 
the Lord's day ; and cease from the works of sinful flesh 2 every 
day of the week; and they will doubtless u delight in the Lord, and 
ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed with the heritage of 
Jacob in the kingdom of God," as the mouth of the Lord hath 
spoken. 

Of the things then which have been written under this head this is 
the sum. 

1. The six creation-days were each as long as the seventh, whose 
duration is defined by the Mosaic law ; and consequently the geolo- 
gical notion of their being six several periods of many centuries each, 
falls to the ground as a mere conceit of infidel philosophy. 

2. The Lord God ended his work on the seventh day, '* and was 
refreshed " by the songs of the Morning Stars, and the joyous shouts 
of he Sons of God. 

3. To celebrate his rest he constituted it holy and a day of blessing. 
Hence it was commemorative of the past, and lt a shadow of things 
to come." 

4. The seventh day was observed by Adam and Eve as a day of 
delight before they became sinners. The immediate cause of their 
ioyousness on the day of rest is not testified. It is certain it was not 
a burdensome day ; for sin had not yet marred their enjoyments. It 
was probably because of the gracious interviews granted them by the 
Lord God on that day ; and of the revelations made to them of the 
things contained in the blessing pronounced upon it when he " blessed 
and sanctified it." 

5. There is no record, or hint, of the existence of a penal statute for 
not observing the seventh day, from the sanctifi cation of it till the 

i Acts ii. 42. » GaL r. 19. 



22 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

raining down bread from heaven for the Israelites in the wilderness of 

Egypt- 

6. The observance of the seventh day by absolute rest from every 
kind of work and pleasure-taking, accompanied by a peculiar sacri- 
fice on the brazen altar of the temple, and spiritual delight in its 

'blessedness, was its Mosaic celebration enjoined upon the Israelites, 
and their dependants in Palestine, and upon them alone. 

7. Its profanation by citizens of the commonwealth of Israel was 
punishable with death by stoning. 

8. Israel was especially commanded to remember the seventh day 
and keep it as appointed by the law ; because God in creating their 
world brought them out of Egypt, and rested from the work of its 
creation when he gave .them a temporary and typical rest under 
Joshua in the land of Canaan. 

9. For an Israelite to remember the seventh day to keep it holy, 
spiritually as well as ceremonially, so as to obtain the blessing which 
it shadowed forth, he must have had an Abrahamic faith 1 in the pro- 
mised blessing, and have ceased or rested from the works of " sinful 
flesh." 

10. The blessing promised to Israelites, who were Abraham's sons 
by faith as well as by fleshly descent, for a spiritual observance of the 
seventh day (and which, until " the handwriting," or Mosaic law, was 
blotted out and nailed to the cross, could not be spiritually observed 
and ceremonially profaned) was, that they should " delight in the 
Lord, ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed with the heri- 
tage of Jacob their father/' when the time to fulfil the promises made 
to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, should arrive. 

11. The blessing pronounced on a national observance of the seventh 
day was the uninterrupted continuance of the throne of David, and 
great national prosperity. Its desecration to be punished by the 
breaking up of the commonwealth of Israel and desolation of their 
country. 

12. The Mosaic observance of the seventh day was appointed as 
u a sign" between God and the twelve tribes of Israel. It was a holy 
day to them, and to be observed perpetually throughout their genera- 
tions. 2 

13. It was lawful for Israelites to do good on the seventh day; but 
they were not permitted to be the judges of the good or evil. This 
was defined by the law. The priests profaned the sabbath by hard 
work in slaying and burning the seventh day sacrifices on the altar, 
yet they were blameless ; because this was a good work which the 
Lord of the sabbath commanded them to do. 

14. Having finished the work the Falher had given him to do, 3 on 
the sixth day of the week, Jesus, while suspended on the accursed 
tree, cried with a loud voice, " It is finished /" 4 " All things were 
now accomplished," so that the Mosaic handwriting was blotted out, 
being nailed with him to the cross, and taken out of the way as a rule 
of life. The Lord Jesus u rested from his labours" on the seventh 

» Rom. iv. 12, 18—22. Read the whole chapter diligently. 2 Matt i. 17— the forty- two generatior- 
from Abraham to Christ. Col. i. 26. * John xvii. 4. * John xix. 28— ?0. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WOULD. £3 



day in the silent tomb, and "his disciples rested according to the 
commandment." 1 He abode in his place, and did not go out of it 
until the sabbath was at an end. 2 But, on the eighth day, styled also 
the first day, God gave him liberty, 3 he left the tomb, and " was re- 
freshed." Having " spoiled the principalities and the powers " con- 
stituted by the handwriting, he made the spoliation manifest, V triumph- 
ing over them in himself" (ewvtw) that is, in his resurrection; thus, 
for ever delivering men from the bondage of the law, which Peter 
says, " was a yoke which neither our fathers nor we were able to 
bear." 4 With the abolition of the Mosaic handwriting the obligation 
to keep the seventh day as a rule of spiritual life was cancelled as a 
matter of course. 

15. The apostles and christians 5 of the Hebrew nation in Palestine 
continued a ceremonial observance of the Mosaic festivals 6 (the 
annual atonement for sin excepted) and of the seventh day, until the 
destruction of the commonwealth by the Romans, on the same prin- 
ciple that New Testament christians among the nations now observe 
Sunday and the laws; not as a means of justification before God, but 
as mere national customs for the regulation of society. 

16. Hebrew christians who proposed to blend the law of Moses 
xvith that of Jesus as a spiritual rule, or means of justification, and 
consequently to keep holy the seventh day, were severely reproved bv 
the apostles, who stigmatized it as u Judaizing "7 ('louddl&u,). 

17. The judaizing christians endeavoured to impose the observance 
of the law upon the Gentile converts, which would have compelled 
them to keep holy the seventh day. But the apostles and elders of 
the christian community at Jerusalem positively forbid it, and wrote 
to them, saving, " we have heard that certain who went out from us 
have troubled you with words subverting your souls, savin"-, < be cir- 
cumcised, and keep the law: 9 to whom we gave no such command- 
ment." On the contrary, " it seems good to the Holy Spirit, and to 
us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things : 
that ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from 
things strangled, and from fornication ; from which if ye keep your- 
selves, ye shall do well." 8 

18. The Lord's day is the first day of the week, or day after the 
seventh, and therefore sometimes styled the eighth day. It is termed 
his day, because it is the week-day of his resurrection. Upon this 
day the disciples of Christ assembled to show forth his death, and to 
celebrate his resurrection; which, with an enduring rest from the 
woi'ks of " sinful flesh," was all the sabbatizing they practised on the 
Lord's day. 

19. There is no law in the scriptures requiring the nations to keep 
the Lord's day in any manner whatever during his absence at the 
right hand of the Majesty in the heavens. So long as they continue 
faithless and disobedient to the gospel of the kingdom, neither nations 
nor individuals can present an acceptable observance of the day 
before the Lord ; on the principle that " Jehovah is far from the 

• Lake xxiii. 56. 2 Mark xvL 1 . 3 Matt, xxviii. 2. * Acts xv. 10. 5 j^ts zxi. 30 ; * verse 24—26 
1 Gal. iL 14. 8 Acts xr. 24—29. 



24 -RUDIMEiNTS OF THE WORLPo 

wicked, whose way and sacrifice are an abomination to the Lord :"* 
— and, 

20. The Lord's day was judaized by Constantine, the man-child 
of sin, 2 and his clergy. His present representative is the Italian high 
priest of papal Christendom. When his power, and that of his 
kings, is finally destroyed in "the burning flame;" when Israelis 
engrafted into their own olive again, and the nations are subdued to 
the glorious sceptre of the king of saints — then will the Lord's day 
become the holy sabbath, "blessed and sanctified" of God instead of 
the shadowy seventh day, which was merely "a sign " of the things 
which will then have come to pass. 

THE FORMATION OF MAN. 

" Out of the ground wast thou taken ; for dust thou art." 

That "the sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath," 
is a truth of general application to all the institutions of God. Upon 
this principle, man was not made for religion, but religion was made 
for him. If this be true, then it follows that it was adapted to man 
as God had formed him. Hence, the institutions of religion, if it be 
of God, will always be found in harmony with his constitution, and 
not at variance with it. They are devised as a remedy for certain 
irregularities which have invaded his intellectual and moral nature; 
b) r which, phenomena have been superinduced which are destructive 
of his being. Now the exact adaptation of the bible religion to the 
curative indications suggested by the intellectual, moral, and physical 
infirmities of human nature, which every one who understands it can- 
not fail to perceive, — proves that the mind which framed it is divine ; 
and that the religion of the scriptures, and the constitution of man, are 
the work of one and the same creator. God is truly the only wise 
physician, whose practice is based upon perfect knowledge; "for ho 
alone (and they to whom he hath revealed it) knows •' what is in 
man."* Hence, no incongruities are discoverable in u his way" when 
his method of cure is understood. 

In medicine, a scientific practice is directed, and founded upon a 
knowledge of the structure or mechanism of the body, the motive 
power thereof, and of the functions which are manifested by the working 
of this power on its several parts. The absence of this knowledge in a 
professional, constitutes empiricism ; and Is one cause of such vast 
multitudes " dying" as it is said, " of the doctor." Being ignorant of 
the motive power of the living creature, they are as unsuccessful in 
correcting its irregularities, as a watchmaker would be in rectifying 
a timepiece who was ignorant of the principles and laws by which 
it was moved. Now this may be taken in illustration of the pre- 
dicament of others who undertake the " cure of souls." To treat 
these as " a workman that needeth not to be ashamed/' a man 
should be acquainted with " souls " as God hath formed and con- 
stituted them. He should know what "a living soul" is; what 
its condition in a healthy state ; what the peculiar morbid affection 

» Prov. xv. 8, 9, 26—29. ' Rev. xii. 2—5. 3 j hn u. 25 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 25 

under which it languishes ; what the nature of the cure indicated ; 
and what the divinely appointed means by which the indications 
maybe infallibly fulfilled. An attempt to "cure souls '' without 
understanding the constitution of man as revealed by Him who 
created him, is mere theological experimentalism ; and as bootless, 
and more fatally destructive than the empiricism of the most igno- 
rant pretenders to the healing art. What ! men undertake to 
" cure souls," and not know what a soul is ; or to imagine it a 
something, which it is admitted, cannot be demonstrated by " the 
testimony of God. 1 ' This is like pretending to repair a timepiece 
without knowing what constitutes a watch or clock, or while imagin- 
ing it to be a musical box, or any other conceivable thing. 

Speculation has assumed that the soul is something in the human 
body capable of living out of the body, and of eating, drinking, 
feeling, tasting, smelling, thinking, singing, and so forth; and of 
the same essence as God himself. In times past some have busied 
themselves in calculating how many such souls could stand on the 
point of a needle ; a problem, however, which still remains unsolved. 
A vast deal is said in 4< sermons " and systems about this idea : about 
its supposed nature, its wonderful capacity, its infinite value, its 
immortality, and its destiny. I shall not, however, trouble the reader 
with it. We have to do with " the law and the testimony ;" and as 
they are altogether silent about such a supposed existence, we shall 
not occupy our pages in superadding to ihe obsolete print concerning 
its attributes, which has already merged into the oblivion of the past. 
I allude to so much as this, because it i-s made the foundation corner- 
stone, as it were, of those experimental systems of spiritual cure, which 
are so popular with the world, and so utterly exclusive and proscrip- 
tive of the divine method. 

Upon the supposition of the existence of this kind of a soul in the 
human body, are based the current notions of heaven, hell, immor- 
tality, infant salvation, purgatory, saint-worship, Mariolatry, spiritual 
milienniumism, metempsychosis, &c, &c. Its existence both in the 
body and out of the body being assumed, it is assumed also to be 
immortal. An immortal disembodied existence requires a dwelling 
place, because something must be somewhere ; and, as it is said to be 
virtuous or vicious according to its supposed life in the body, and post 
mortem rewards and punishments are affirmed — this dwelling-place is 
exhibited as an elysium, or, as an orthodox poet sings, " a place of 
goblins damn'd.'' To deter men from crime, and to move them to 
" get religion" that their souls may be cured of sin, frightful pictures 
are painted, sometimes on canvas, sometimes on the imagination, and 
sometimes sculptured on stones, of the crackling and sulphurous 
flames, hideous devils, and horrid shapes, which fill the Tartarian habi- 
tation of the immortal ghosts of wicked men. This destiny of con- 
demned ghosts was a part of the " vain philosophy " of the Greeks 
and Romans before the advent of Christ. It was introduced into the 
churches of the saints soon after " God granted repentance to the 
Gentiles. "* But, as the apostles taught the resurrection of the mortal 

> Acts xi 18. 



26 RUDIMENTS OF TJIE WORLD. 

body 1 the dogmatism of the Greeks was variously modified. Some 
admitted the resurrection of the dead ; but, as it interfered with their 
hypothesis about souls, they said it was already past ; 2 and conse- 
quently, that " there is no resurrection of the dead." 3 This gentilizing 
the hope of the gospel fii led Paul with zeal, and caused him to pen the 
fifteenth chapter of his first letter to the Corinthians to counteract its 
pernicious influence. He wrote to Timothy to put him on his guard 
against it ; and styles the gentilisms, " profane vain babblings ; and 
oppositions of science falsely so called." 4 He exhorts him to shun 
them, and " not to strive about words to no profit;" for they "would 
eat as doth a canker" 5 

]&' there was no other evidence in Paul's writings of inspiration, this 
prediction would be sufficient to establish it. It has come to pass 
exactly as he foretold it. The dogma of an immortal soul in mortal 
sinful flesh has eaten out the marrow and fatness, the flesh and sinew, 
of I he doctrine of Christ; and has left behind only an ill-conditioned 
and ulcerated skeleton of Christianity, whose dry bones rattle in the 
" winds of doctrine " that are blowing around us, chopping and 
changing to every point of the compass. The apostles taught two 
resurrections of the dead; one at " the manifestation of his presence" 

— tTTKfxzveia. TTJs Trapovo-ias aWov EPIPHANEIA tees pai'OUSiaS hautott ,* 6 

the other, at the delivering up of the kingdom to God at the end 7 of 
the dispensation of the fulness of times. But this did not suit the 
theory of the dogmatists. They resolved the first into what they term 
" a glorious resurrection of spiritual life in the soul ;" and the second, 
into a re-union of disembodied ghosts with their old mortalities to be 
sent back whence they came. In this way" they reduce the second 
resurrection to a very useless and superfluous affair. Their systems 
send " souls " to their account as soon as death strikes the bodies 
down. Some torment them in purgatory, or in an intermediate state ; 
others send them direct into unmitigated punishment ; while both, 
after they have suffered for thousands of years before trial and con- 
viction, re-unite them to their bodies; and if it be asked for what 
purpose? system replies, "to be judged 1" Punish souls first and 
judge them after ! This is truly human, but it is certainly not divine 
justice. The truth is, that this article of the creed is brought in to 
defend "orthodoxy" against the imputation of denying the resurrec- 
tion of the body, which would be a vevy inconvenient charge in the 
face of the testimony of God. But this will not avail; for, to believe 
dogmas that make the resurrection of the mortal body unnecessary 
and absurd is equivalent to a denial of it. In saying that there was 
no future resurrection, Paul charged the Corinthians with the mortal 
sin of repudiating the resurrection of Jesus ; " for," said he, " if the 
dead rise not," as ye say, " then Christ is not raised." Their heresy 
eat out this truth, which stands or falls with the reality of the "first 
resurrection" at his coming. 8 

The question of " infant salvation " and " non-elect infant damna- 
tion," also rests upon the dogma before us. " Orthodoxy " sends 

1 Rom. viii. 11 ; 1 Cor. xv. 42— 54. * 2 Tim. ii. 18. 3 1 Cor. xv. 12. M Tim. vi.20. 5 2 Tim. 
ii. 14, 16, 17. « 1 Thess. iv. 14—17 ; 2 Epist. i. 7, 8 ; ii. 8. » Rev. xx. 5; 1 Cor. xv. 24. » verse 2*. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD, 27 

some infants to hell and some to heaven ; though many ll orthodox ' 
persons are getting heartily ashamed of this part of the creed. The 
apprehension of the damnation of their "immortal souls" on account 
of "original sin," has given rise to the Romish conceit of the rhan- 
tismal regeneration of infants by the Holy Spirit in the scattering of 
a few drops of water upon the face, and the use of a certain form of 
words. This has been recently declared to be regenerative of infant 
souls by an English court of law ! This question is actually gravely 
discussed by bishops, priests, lawyers, and ministers, in the year of 
grace 1849 ! So true is it that " great men are not always wise ; 
neither do the aged understand judgment." 1 

As far as the infant is itself concerned this Romish ceremony is of 
no importance, for it does it. neither good nor harm. In one sense, 
however, the subject of " the ordinance" is deeply injured. He is 
indoctrinated by system into the notion that he was truly baptized 
when rhantismally " regenerated ;" and, therefore, when he is grown 
he troubles himself no more about the matter. Alas, what havoc, 
the apostacy has made with the doctrine of Christ ! Believers' bap- 
tism transmuted into rhantizing an unconscious babe for the regenera- 
tion of its u immortal soul !" Would such a thing ever have been 
thought of but for the Nicolaitan " oppositions of science," " which/ 
says the Lord Jesus, " I hate?" 2 I trow not. 

How important then it is that we should have a scriptural under- 
standing, of the constitution of man. If it should appear by an 
exposition of the truth, that there is no such kind of soul in the 
universe as that conceited by the pagan Greeks and Romans, and 
gentilized into the doctrine of the apostles by contemporary perverters* 
of the gospel, the faith and hope of which it hath ulcerously con- 
sumed — and handed down to us by " orthodox divines" — and fondled 
in these times as an essential ingredient of a true faith : — what becomes 
of the "cure of souls" by the dogmatical specifics of the day? 
They are resolved into theological empiricism, which is destined to 
recede like darkness before the orient brightness of the rising truth. 

Let us then endeavour to understand ourselves as God has revealed 
our nature in his word. On the sixth day, ihe Elohim gave the 
word, saying, " Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. " 
In this word was life, spirit, or energy. '• It was God. All things 
were made by it, and without it was not any thing made that was 
made." 4 Hence, says Elihu, " the Spirit of God hath made me, 
and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life;" 6 or, as Moses 
testifies, " the Lord God formed man, the dust of the ground, and 
breathed into his nostrils the breath of lives ;; and man became a 
Living Soul." 6 

Now, if it be asked, what do the scriptures define " a living soul " 
to be ? — the answer is, a living natural, or animal, body, whether of 
birds, beasts, fish, or men. The phrase living creature is the exact 
synonym of living soul. The Hebrew words nephesh chayiah are 
the signs of the ideas expressed by Moses. Nephesh signifies crea- 
ture, also life, soul, or breathing frame from the verb to breathe : 

i Job xxxii. 9. 2 Rev. ii. G, 15. 3 Gal. i. 7—9. * John i. 1—5 « Job xxxiii. 4. 6 Gen. ii. 7 



<& RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

chayiah is living — the participle of the verb to live. Nephesh 
chayiah is the genus which includes all species of living creatures ; 
namely, Adam man, heme beast of the field, chitu wild beast, remesh 
reptile, and ouph fowl, &c. In the common version of the scriptures, 
it is rendered living soul; so that under this form of expression the 
scriptures speak of "all flesh" which breathes in air, earth, and 
sea. 

Writing about body, the apostle says, " there is a natural body, and 
there is a spiritual body" But, he does not content himself with 
simply declaring this truth ; he goes further, and proves it by quoting 
the words of Moses, saying, u for so it is written, the first man Adam 
was made into a licing soul — iU tyvxh" Wav ;" and then adds, " the 
last Adam into a spirit giving life, eJs Tvevfia Zuoirotow." 1 Hence, in 
another place, speaking of the latter, he says of him, " now the Lord 
is the spirit — 6 61 Kvpio? to -nvtviia. ko-TLv. And we all, with unveiled face, 
beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are changed into his 
image from glory into glory, as by the Lord the Spirit — airo Kvpiov 

TrvLufJLO.TOS.''' 1 " 

The proof of the apostle's proposition that there is a natural body 
as distinct from a spiritual body, lies in the testimony, that " Adam 
was made into a living sold;" showing that he considered a natural, 
or animal body, and a living soul, as one and the same thing. If he 
did not, then there was no proof in the quotation, of what lie 
affirmed. 

A man then is a living soul in the sense of his being an animal, or 
living creature —nephesh chayiah adam. As a natural man, he has no 
other pre-eminence over the creatures God made, than what his pecu- 
liar organization confers upon him. Moses makes no distinction 
between him and them ; for he styles them all living souls, breathing 
the breath of lives. Thus, literally rendered he says, "theElohim 
said, the waters shall produce abundantly sheretz chayiah nephesh 
the reptile living soul ;" and again, u hal nephesh chayiah erameshat 
every living soul creeping " In another verse, " let the earth bring 
forth nephesh chayiah the living soul after its kind, cattle, and creep- 
ing thing, and beast of the earth, &C;" and " lekol rumesh ol earetz 
asher bu nephesh chayiah to every thing creeping upon the earth 
which (has) in it living breath,'' 3 that is, breath of lives. And lastly, 
" whatsoever Adam called nephesh chayiah the living soul that was 
the name thereof/' 4 

Quadrupeds and men, however, are not only "living souls," but 
they are vivified by the same breath and spirit. In proof of this, I 
remark first, that the phrase l * breath of life " in the text of the com- 
mon version is neshemet chayim in the Hebrew ; and that, as chayim 
is in the plural, it should be rendered breath of lives. Secondly, this 
neshemet chayim is said to be in the inferior creatures as well as in 
man. Thus, God said, " I bring a flood of waters upon the earth to 
destroy all flesh wherein is ruach chayim spirit of lives." 5 And 
in another place, " they went in to Noah into the ark, two and two of 
all flesh, in which is ruach chayim spirit of lives." "And all flesh 

1 Cor. xy. 44, 45, 2 2 Cor. iii. 17, 18. s Gun. i. 20, 21, 24, 80. < Gen. ii. 19. t> Gen. vi. 17. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 29 

died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of 
beast, and of every creeping thing, and every man ; all in whose 
nostrils was n&oiiemet ruach chayim, breath of spirit of lives." 1 
Now, as I have said, it was the neshemet chayim with which Moses 
testifies God inflated the nostrils of Adam ; if, therefore, this was 
divina particula aurce, a particle of the divine essence, as it is affirmed, 
which became the " immortal soul " in man, then all other animals 
-have " immortal souls" likewise; for they all received " breath of 
spirit of lives " in common with man. 

From these testimonies, I think, it must be obvious to the most un- 
learned, that the argument for the existence of an *' immortal soul" 
in " sinful flesh, 11 hereditarily derived from the first sinner, predicated 
on the inspiration of his nostrils with '• the breath of lives " by the 
Lord God, and the consequent application lo him of the phrase 
" living soul," if admitted as good logic, proves too much, and there- 
fore nothing to the purpose. For if man be proved to be immortal in 
this sense, and upon such premises as these, then all quadrupeds are 
similarly immortal ; which none, I suppose, but believers in the 
transmigration of souls, would be disposed to admit. 

The original condition of the animal world was " very good." Un- 
pervcrted by the introduction of evil, all its constituents fulfilled the 
purposes of their existence. Begotten of the same power, and formed 
from the substance of a common mother, they were all animated by 
the same spirit, and lived in peace and harmony together. Formed to 
be living breathing frames, though of different species, in God they 
lived, and moved, and had their continued being ; and displayed his 
wisdom, power, and handywork. 

But, to return to the philology of our subject, I remark that by 
a metonomy, or figure of speech in which the container is put for the 
thing contained, and vice versa, nephesh " breathing frame" is put 
for neshemet 7'uach chayim, which, when in motion, the frame 
respires. Hence nephesh signifies " life," also " breath " and il soul " 
— Life, or those mutually affective, positive and negative principles 
in all living creatures, whose closed circuits cause motion of and in 
their frames. These principles, or . qualities, perhaps, of the same 
thing, are styled by Moses Ruach Elohim," or Spirit of Him " who 
only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can 
approach unto, whom no man hath seen, nor can see," 3 and which, 
when the word was spoken by " the Holy Gods," 4 first caused a mo- 
tion upon the waters, and afterwards disengaged the light, evolved the 
expanse, aggregated the waters, produced vegetation, manifested the 
celestial universe, vitalized the breathing frames of the dry land, ex- 
panse, and seas ; and formed man in their image and likeness. This 
ruach, or spirit, is neither the Uncreated One who dwells in light, the 
Lord God, nor ihe Eiohim, his co-workers, who co-operated in the 
elaboration of „ne natural world. It was the instrumental principle 
by which they executed the commission of the glorious Increate to 
erect this earthlv house, and furnish it with living souls of everjr 
species. 

• Gen. vii. 15, 21. » Gen. i. 2. 3 1 Tim, vi. 16. * Daw. iv. t. 



30 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

It is this ruach, or instrum en tally formative power, together with 
the neshemeh or breath, which keeps them all from perishing, or 
returning to the dust. Thus, " if God set his heart against man, He 
will withdraw to himself rnachu veneshemetu, i. e., his spirit and his 
breath; all flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again to 
dust." 1 In another place, "by the neshemet el, or breath of God, 
frost is given." 2 Speaking of reptiles and beasts, David saith, 
"thou withdrawest ruachem, i. e., their spirit —they die ; and to their 
dust they return. Thou sendest forth ruhech, i. e.,thy spirit — they are 
created." 3 And again, " whither shall I fly , ?neruhech, from thy 
spirit." 4 

From these testimonies it is manifest, that the ruach or spirit is all 
pervading. It is in heaven, in sheol, or the dust of the deepest hollow, 
in the uttermost depths of the sea, in the darkness, in the light, and 
in all things animate, and without life. It is an universal principle in 
the broadest, or rather, in an illimitable sense. It is the substratum 
of all motion, whether manifested in the diurnal and ellipsoidal revo- 
lutions of the planets, in the flux and reflux of the sea, in the storms 
and tempests of the expanse, or in the organism of reptiles, cattle, 
beasts, fish, fowls, vegetables, or men. The atmospheric expanse is 
charged with it ; but it is not the air : plants and animals of all 
species breathe it ; but it is not their breath : yet without it, though 
filled with air, they would die. 

The atmosphere, which extends some forty-five miles in altitude, 
and encircles the globe, is styled the expanse, by Moses ; and the 
breath of God, in Job. It is a compound body, consisting when pure 
of nitrogen and oxygen, in the proportion of 79 of the former to 
21 of the latter, in 100 parts. These are considered as simple bodies, 
because they have not yet been decomposed ; though it is probable 
they have a base, which may be the niach. This may exist free or 
combined with the elementary constituents of the neshemeh. Uncom- 
bined, it is that wonderful fluid, whose explosions are heard in the 
thunder, whose fiery bolts overthrow the loftiest towers, and rive the 
sturdy monarch of the woods ; and in less intensity gives polarity to 
light, the needle, and the brain. These three together, the oxygen, 
nitrogen, and electricity, constitute " the breath " and "spirit" of the 
lives of all God's living souls. 

Thus, from the centre of the earth, and extending throughout all 
space in every direction, is the Ruach Elohim, the existence of which 
is demonstrable from the phenomena of the natural system of things. 
It penetrates where the neshemet el, or atmospheric air, cannot. When 
speaking, however, of the motivity and sustentation of organized 
dust, or souls, they are co-existent within them. In this case, the 
ruach Elohim becomes the ruach chayim, or " spirit of lives ;" and 
the neshemet el, the neshemet chayim, or " breath of lives ;" and both 
combined in the elaboration and support of life, the neshemet ruach 
chayim, or " breath of the spirit of lives." Living creatures, or 
souls, are not animated, as physiologists and speculative u divines" 
erroneously imagine, by *« a vital principle" capable of disembodied 

1 Job xxxiv. 14. 2 Job xxxvii. 10. 3 Pbalm civ. 20. * Psalm cxxxix. 7. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 31 

existence as the ghost of a man, or the transmigrating spectres of other* 
animal species ; — ghostly things, the laws and functions of which in the 
animal economy physiologists are unable to discover ; and theologists 
are non-plussed to prove the existence of from the word of God. On 
the contrary, "souls" are fi made living" by the coetaneous operation 
of the ruach chayim and the neshemet chayim upon their organized 
tissues according to certain fixed laws. When the as yet occult laws 
of the all-pervading ruach, or spirit, shall be known, this subject will 
be understood ; and men will then be as astonished at the ignorance 
of the "divines," and physiologists of this " cloudy and dark day," 
respecting " living souls," as we are at the notion of the ancients, that 
their " immortal gods " resided in the stocks and stones they so stu- 
pidly adored. This, however, is quite as reasonable a theory as that 
of " immortal souls " dwelling in sinners of Adam's race. 

The ruach chayim and neshemet chayim are lent to the creatures of 
the natural world for the appointed period of their living existence. 
But, though lent to them, they are still God's breath, and God's spirit; 
nevertheless, to distinguish them from the expanse of air and spirit 
in their totality, they are sometimes styled, " the spirit of man," and 
" the spirit of the beast ;" or collectively, " the spirits of all flesh," 
and " their breath." Thus, it is written, " they have all one ruach, or 
spirit ; so that man hath no pre-eminence over a beast; for all is vanity 
or vapour." "All go to one place ; all are of the dust, and all turn 
to dust again." 1 And in the sense of supplying to every living crea- 
ture, or soul, " spirit " and " breath," Jehovah is styled bv Moses, 
" God of the spirits of all flesh." - 

Besides the ruach and neshemeh without, there are certain elemen- 
tary principles, in a state of combination, w T ithin all living souls, which 
are related to them by fixed and appropriate laws, for the manifesta- 
tion of living actions. The light to the eye, and the eye to the light ; 
so also, the breath and the spirit of God to the constituents of blood, 
and the blood to them. These, acting and re-acting upon each other 
in the lungs of all breathing frames, cause that motion throughout 
their structure which is termed life. The following testimonies will 
throw some light upon this part of our subject. 

" Flesh, be-ncphesh-u, with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, 
shall ye not eat." This teaches that blood is the nephesh, or life of the 
flesh ; hence it continues, " and surely your blood, lah~?iephesh-tikam t 
for your lives will I require." 3 We often find life put for blood, and 
blood for life, as elsewhere in the context. u Be sure that thou eat 
not the blood, for the blood is the nephesh, or life ; and thou may est 
not eat the life, nephesh, with the flesh." 4 But, to this it might be 
objected, that if the blood be the life, then so long as it is in the body 
it ought to live ; on the contrary it dies with the blood in it. True. 
Moses, however, does not teach the dogma of an abstract vital prin- 
ciple; but life, the result and consequence of the decomposition and 
re-combination of the elements of certain compounds. The blood 
abstractly considered is not life; yet relatively, it is " the life of the 
flesh." The following testimony will show the sense in which the 

1 Eccles. iii. 10. 3 Numb, xxvii. 15, 3 Gen. ix. 11. * Deut. xii. 23. 



•» RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

phrase " the blood is the life " is used. " I will set my face against 
that soul that eateth blood. For the life of the flesh is in the blood 
itself. I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement 
for nephesh-tikem your lives : for it is the blood that atones be-nephesk 
for the soul " or life. " Whosoever catcheth any fowl that may be 
eaten, he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust. 
For it is the life of all flesh ; the blood of it is for the life thereof. 
Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh ; for the life of all flesh 
is the blood thereof." Nothing can be plainer than this. 

There are three kinds of living manifestations, which are charac- 
terized by the nature of the organization, or being, through which 
they occur. Hence, w r e have vegetable life, animal life, and incor- 
ruptible life. The last is immortality ; because the body through 
which the life is manifested being incorruptible, never wears out ; so 
that being once put into motion by the spirit of God, it lives for ever. 
Vegetable and animal life, on the contrary, is terminable or mortal ; 
because the materials through which it is revealed are perishably 
organized. Mortality, then, is life manifested through a corruptible 
body ; and immortality, life manifested through an incorruptible body. 
Hence, the necessity laid down in the saying of the apostle, u this 
corruptible body must put on incorruption, and this mortal put on 
immortality," before death can be M swallowed up in victory." 2 This 
doctrine of " life and incorruptibility " (<>?j Kai a^dapaia) was new to 
the Greeks and Romans ; and brought to light only through the 
gospel of the kingdom and name of Jesus Christ. It was to them 
foolishness ; and is to the moderns incredible, because they understand 
not the glad tidings of the age to come. 

Incorruptible life might with equal propriety be styled spiritual 
life as indicative of that with which spiritual bodies are endowed. 
But here I use not the word spiritual, lest 'it should be confounded 
with that intellectual and moral life a man possesses when the " incor- 
ruptible seed" of the kingdom takes root in his heart; and when, in "the 
obedience of faith," he passes from under the sentence of death to the 
sentence of justification unto life eternal. But, at present, we have to 
do with animal or natural life, which is all the life the fleshly sons of 
the first Adam can boast of. Enough, however, I think, has been 
advanced to show the scriptural import of the text already quoted, 
that "the Lord God formed man, the dust of the ground, and 
breathed into his nostrils the breath of lives ; and man became a liv- 
ing soul." The simple, obvious, and undogmatic meaning of this, is, 
that the dust was first formed into " clay" which was then modelled 
by Jehovah Elohim into the form of the soul called " man," as a 
potter shapes the substance of his vessels. Thus, Elihu said to Job, 
" / also am formed out of the clay ;" 3 and again, " we are the clay, 
and thou our potter ; and we all are the work of thy hand." 4 The 
fashioning of the clay being accomplished in all its component parts, 
which in the aggregate constitute man ; that is, the dust being ani- 
malized, and then organized, the next thing was to set all the parts of 
this exquisite mechanism into motion. This was effected by the in- 

1 Lev. i.vii. II. 2 1 Cor. x» 53, 54. 'Job xxxiii. 6. * Istfah lxir. 8. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 3t> 

rush of the air through his nostrils into his lungs according to the 
natural laws. This phenomenon was the neshemct el, or "breath of 
God," breathing into him ; and as it was the pabulum of life to all 
creatures formed from the dust, it is very expressively styled " the 
breath of lives " in the plural number. Some imagine that Jehovah 
Elohim placed his mouth to the nostrils of the as yet clay-cold man- 
soul prostrate before him, and so breathed into them. Be this as it 
may; of this, however, we are without doubt, that God breathes into 
every man at his birth the breath of lives to this day ; and I see no 
scriptural reason why w r e should deny that he breathed it into Adam 
as he hath done into the nostrils of his posterity, namely, by the ope- 
ration of the natural, or pneumatic, laws. Hitherto, man, though a 
soul formed from the ground, had been inanimate ; but, as soon as he 
began to respire, like the embryo passing from foetal to infant life, he 
" became a living soul," not an everliving, but simply nephesk chat/iak 
a living; breathing frame. 

MAN IN THE IMAGE AND LIKENESS OF THE ELOHIM. 
" Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels." 

Men and beasts, say the scriptures, " have all one ruach or spirit; 
so that a man hath no pre-eminence above a beast." The reason 
assigned for this equality is the oneness of their spirit, which is proved 
by the fact of their common destiny; as it is written, " for all are 
vanity:" that is, "all go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all 
turn to dust again." Yet this one spirit manifests its tendencies dif- 
ferently in men and other creatures. In the former, it is aspiring and 
God-defying, rejoicing in its own works, and devoted to the vanity of 
the passing hour; while in the latter, its disposition is grovelling to 
the earth in all things. Thus, the heart of man being "deceitful 
above all things and desperately wicked, who can know or fathom it" — 
Solomon was led to exclaim, "who knoweth the spirit of the sons of 
Adam, ruach beni headam, which exalts itself to the highest, and the 
spirit of a beast which inclines to the earth 7" 1 We may answer, 
" none, but God only ;" he knoweth what is in man, and needs not 
that any should testify of him. 2 

But, from this testimony some one might infer that, as man was 
made only " a little lower than the angels," and vet has "no pre-emi- 
nence over a beast," the beast also is but a little lower than the angels. 
This, however, would be a very erroneous conclusion. The equality 
of men and other animals consists in the kind of life they possess in 
common with each other. Vanity, or mortality, is all that pertains to 
any kind of living fiesh. The whole animal world has been made 
subject to it; and as it affects all living souls alike, bringing them back 
to the dust again, no one species can claim pre-eminence over the 
other ; tor " one thing befalleth them ; as the one dieth, so dieth the 
other." 

Man, however, differs from other creatures in having been modelled 
after a divine type, or pattern. In form and capacity he was made 

1 Eccles. iii. 19—21. 5 John ii. 25. 

C 



34 RUDIMEiNTfl OF THE WORLD. 

like to the angels, though in nature inferior to them. This appears 
from the testimony that lie was made "in their image, after their like- 
ness," and " a little lower than the angels" 1 or Elohim. I sa} r , he was 
made in the image of the angels, as the interpretation of the co-opera- 
tive imperative, " let us make man in our image, after our likeness." 
The work of the six days, though elaborated by the power of Him 
" who dwelleth in the light," was executed by " his angels, that excel 
in strength, and do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of 
his word." 2 These are styled Elohim, or "gods," in numerous 
passages. David says, "worship him all ye gods ;" 3 which Paul 
applies to Jesus, saying, " let all the angrts of God worship him." 4 
Man, then, was made after the image and likeness of Elohim, but for 
a while inferior in nature. But the race will not always be inferior in 
this respect. It is destined to advance to a higher nature ; not all the 
individuals of it ; but those of the race "who shall be accounted 
worthy to obtain that age (aicov pnXkuv the future age) and the resur- 
rection from among the dead (t/c vzKp&v) * * * who can die no more: 
for they are equal to the angels (i<rayyE\oi) ; and are the sons of God, 
being the sons of the resurrection." 5 

The import of the phrase " in the image, after the likeness" is sug- 
gested by the testimony, that " Adam begat a son in his own likeness, 
after his image, and called his name Seth." 6 In this respect, Seth 
stands related to Adam, as Adam did to the Elohim ; but differing 
in this, that the nature of Adam and Seth were identical ; whereas 
that of Adam and the Elohim were dissimilar. Would any pne be 
at a loss to know the meaning of Seth's being in the image of his 
father ? The very same thing is meant by Adam being in the image 
of the Elohim. An image is the representation of some form or 
shape ; metaphorically, it may signify the exact resemblance of one 
character to another, But, in the case before us, the parties had no 
characters at the time of their birth. They were simply innocent of 
actual transgression ; no scope having been afforded them to develope 
character. The Elohim, however, were personages of dignity and 
holiness, as well as of incorruptible, or spiritual, nature. The resem- 
blance, therefore, of Adam to the Elohim as their image was of bodily 
form, not of intellectual and moral attainment ; and this I apprehend 
to be the reason why the Elohim are styled " men" when their visits 
to the sons of Adam are recorded in the scriptures of truth. In 
shape, Seth was like Adam, Adam like the Elohim, and the Elohim, 
the image of the invisible Increate ; the great and glorious archetype 
of the intelligent universe. 

Seth was also " in Adam's own likeness." While image, then, 
hath reference to form or shape, " likeness " hath regard to mental 
constitution, or capacity. From the shape of his head as compared 
with other creatures, it is evident, that man has a mental capacity 
which distinguishes him above them all. Their likeness to him is 
faint. They can think; but their thoughts are only sensual. They 
have no moral sentiments, or high intellectual aspirations ; but are 
grovelling in all their instincts, which incline only to the earth. In 

• Psalm viii. 5. ' Psalm ciii. 20. » Paalm xcvii. 7. < Heb. i. 6. 5 Luke xx. 35, 36. « Gen. t. S. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 35 

proportion as their heads assume the human form in the same ratio 
do they excel each other in sagacity ; and, as in the monkey tribe, 
display a greater likeness to man. But, let the case be reversed ; let 
the human head degenerate from the godlike perfection of the Elohim, 
the standard of beauty in shape and feature; let it diverge to the 
image of an ape's, and the human animal no longer presents the 
iinige and likeness of the Elohim ; but rather, the chattering imbe- 
jility of the creature most resembling it in form. Adam's mental 
capacity enabled tatm to comprehend and receive spiritual ideas, which 
moved him to veneration, hope, conscientiousness, the expression of 
his views, affections, and so forth. Seth was capable of the like dis- 
play of intellectual and moral phenomena ; and of an assimilation of 
character to that of his father. He was therefore in the likeness as 
well as in the image of Adam ; and, in the same sense, they were both 
'* after the likeness of the Elohim." 

But, though Adam was " made in the image and after the likeness " 
of the " Holy Ones," the similitude has been so greatly marred, that 
his posterity present but a faint representation of either. The almost 
uncontrolled and continuous operation of " the law of sin and death," 1 
styled by philosophers " the law of nature," which is an indwelling 
and inseparable constituent of our present economy, has exceedingly 
deformed the image, and effaced the likeness of God, which man 
originally presented. It required, therefore, the appearance of a New ■ 
Man, in whom the image and likeness should re-appear, as in the 
beginning. This was " the man Christ Jesus," whom Paul styles 
"the last Adam." He is M the Image of the invisible God"* 
(tiKiov tov Qtou^) ; u the effulgent mirror of the glory, and exact likeness 

of his person " 3 (&iravya<riJ.a Trjs 5o'£t}S, xal x&owTVP **"»!« v7ro7d<r£a>s ai/Tov) 

Hence, in another place, Paul says, he was " in theyb?*m of God," 4 
{tv fiop<pij Qeov) and also " made in the likeness of men, and in the 
form of a man." Being thus the image and likeness of the invisible 
God, as well as of man, who was created in the image and likeness oi 
the Elohim, he made himself equal with God in claiming God for 
his father, 5 though born of ■' sinful flesh." Though thus highly 
related in paternity, image, and character, he was yet " made a little 
lower than the angels ;" for he appeared not in the higher nature of 
Elohim, but in the inferior nature of the seed of Abraham. 6 This 
was the first stage of his manifestation, as the present is of the saints 
who are his brethren. But he is the appointed if heir of all things, 
on account of whom " (£lov), "the dispensations were re-arranged 
(«aT^Tis6ai toos aia>»a«) by the word of God, to the end that the things 
seen exist not from things apparent."? But, says the apostle, * k we 
do not yet see all things put under him : but we see Jesus, who was 
made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned 
with glory and honour ; that by the grace of God he should taste 
death for every man." 8 Having been thus laid low, and for this 
gracious purpose, he is no longer " lower than the angels." He is 
equal to them in body ; and made so much superior to them in rank, 

■ Bom. vii. 28. *€o].i. 15. 3 Heb. i. 3. * Pfail. ii. 6, 7, 8. 5 John v. IS • Heb. ii. 16. » Hd*. 
i, 2 ; xi. 3. 8 Heb. ii. 8, 6. 

c 2 



DO RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

dignity, honour, and glory, " as he hath by inheritance obtained a 
more excellent name than they." 1 

In Jesus, then, raised from the dead incorruptible, and clothed with 
brightness as when he was transfigured upon the Holy Mount, 2 we 
behold the image and likeness of the invisible God. When we con- 
template him by faith, as we shall hereafter by sight, we see a mirror 
from which the glory of Jehovah is reflected in intellectual, moral, 
and physical grandeur. He that would know God must behold him 
in Christ. If he be acquainted with him as he is pourtrayed in the 
prophets and apostles, he will understand the character of God, whom 
no man hath seen, nor can see ; who chargeth his angels with folly, 
and before whom the heavens are not clean. Jesus was the true light 
shining in the darkness of Judea, whose inhabitants " comprehended 
it not." Through him, God, who commanded the light to shine out 
of darkness, shone into the hearts of as many as received him, to give 
them the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of 
Jesus Christ ; that so they might receive power to become the sons of 
God, believing on his name. 3 

How consoling and cheering is it, then, amid all the evils of the 
present state, that God hath found a ransom, who is willing and able 
to deliver us from the power of the grave ; and not only so, but that 
"at the manifestation of the sons of God/' 4 when he shall appear in 
power and great glory, " we shall be like him ; because we shall see 
him as he is." 5 Then will the saints be " changed into the same 
image from glory," now only a matter of hope, " into glory," as seen 
and actually possessed, " even as the Lord " himself was changed, 
when he became " the spirit giving life," or " a quickening spirit." 

THE SPIRITUAL BODY. 

" There is a spiritual body." 

The subject of this section is the second member of the apostle's 
proposition, that " there is a natural body, and there is a spiritual 
body," It is contained in his reply to some o{ the Corinthian disci- 
ples, who, to their shame, had not the knowledge of God, and there- 
fore foolishly inquired, "How are the dead raised up? and with 
what body do they come ?" He showed them that the animal body 
had a similar relation to the spiritual body that naked grain has to 
the plant produced from it according to the law of its reproduction. 
He explained, that before a plant could be reproduced from a seed, 
the seed must be put into the soil, and die, or decay away. By the 
time the plant is established, all vestige of the seed is gone from the 
root ; yet, the identity of the seed with the plant is not lost, inasmuch 
as the same kind of seed re-appears in the fruit of the plant. The plant 
i9 the secondary body of the seed-body, which is the first. There are 
different kinds of vegetable seed-bodies ; and also of animal seed- 
bodies. These classes of seeds are terrestrial bodies, and have their 
glory in the bodies produced from them. But there are also celestial 

» Heb, i. 4. 2 Matt. xvii. 2. » 2 Cor. iii. 18 , iv. 6 ; John L 5, 12. * Rom. viii. 17—25. 

s 1 John iii. 2. 



RUDIMENTS OP THE WORLD. 37 

bodies, whose glory is of a different character. It is light blazing 
and sparkling in the vault of heaven, as may be seen by every eye. 
Such is the apostle's illustration of the resurrection of the dead ; or, 
of how they are raised, and with what kind of body they come forth. 
" So also," says he, " is the resurrection of the dead." We are in 
this state as the naked grain. We die and are buried, and go to cor- 
ruption ; leaving only our characters behind us written in the book of 
God. When decayed, a little dust alone remains, as the nucleus of 
our future selves. When the time comes for the righteous dead to 
rise, then u he that raised up Christ from the dead will aiso make 
alive their mortal bodies by his spirit," operating through Jesus 
upon their dust, and fashioning it into the image of the Lord from 
heaven. 1 Thus, as the Elohim made man out of the dust in their 
own image and likeness ; so, the Lord Jesus, by the same spirit, will 
also refashion from the dust, the righteous of the posterity of the 
first Adam, into his own image and likeness. This is wonderful, that 
by a man should come the resurrection of the dead. 2 Truly may he 
be called the " Wonderful." 3 Once a babe fondled at the breast, and 
hereafter the creator of myriads, now only dust and ashes, but then 
equal to the angels of God ; and '* sons of the resurrection," of which 
he is himself " the First Fruits." 

Having shown " how," or upon what principles, the righteous dead 
are raised, the apostle gives us to understand, that their " glory " will 
consist in brightness ; tor he cites the splendour of the celestial bodies 
as illustrative of their's. This reminds us of the testimony in Daniel, 
that '' they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firma- 
ment, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever 
and ever." 4 This is repeated by the Lord Jesus, who says, u then 
shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their 
father;" 5 which assurance Paul also revives in his letter to the saints 
at Philippi, saying, " our commonwealth (^^ to iroXntviia) has a be- 
ginning 6 (uTi-apxei) in the heavens, (tv ovoavoix) out of which also we 
wait for the saviour, the Lord .J esus Christ : who will transfigure the 
body of our humiliation, that it may become of like form with the 
body of his glory, by the power of that which enables him even to 
subdue all things to himself."? 

When we die w r e are buried, or " sown," like so many seeds in the 
earth. We are sown, says the apostle, "in corruption," "in dis- 
honour," " in weakness," and with an animal nature ; but, when we 
are raised to inherit the kingdom, we become incorruptible, glorious, 
powerful, and possessed of a spiritual nature, such as Jesus and the 
Elohim rejoice in. Now, a spiritual body is as material, or substan- 
tial and tangible, a body as that which we now possess. It is a body 
purified from " the law of sin and death." Hence it is termed 
'* holy," and " spiritual," because it is born of the spirit from the 
dust, is incorruptible, and sustained by the ruach, or spirit, indepen- 
dently of the neshemeh, or atmospheric air. " That which is born .of 
the flesh," in the ordinary way, " is flesh," or an animal body : and 

1 Rora. viii. 11 ; 2 Cor. iv. 14. 2 1 Cor. xv. 21. 3 Isaiah ix. 6. « Dan. xii. 3. * Matt. xiii. 49. 
6 Dan. ii. 44 ; Luke xix. 12, 15. » Phil. iii. 20, 21. 



38 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

that which is born of the spirit/' by a resurrection to life, " is spirit* 
or a spiritual body. 1 Hence, in speaking of Jesus, Paul says, u born 
of David's seed according to the flesh; and constituted the son of 
God in power, by the spirit of holiness, through a resurrection from 
the dead." 2 Thus, he was born of the spirit, and therefore became 
u a spirit j" and, because highly exalted, and possessing a name which 
is above every name, 3 he is styled " the Lord the Spirit.'' 

That the spiritual body is independent of atmospheric air for its 
support, is clear from the ascension of the Lord Je-us. An animal 
body can only exist in water, or in atmospheric air, and at a compara- 
tively low altitude above the surface of the earth. Now, the air does 
not extend beyond forty-five miles ; consequently beyond that limit, if 
they could even attain to it, creatures supported by breath in the nos- 
trils, could no more live than fish in the air. Beyond our atmosphere 
is the ether ; through which they only can pass, who, like the Lord 
Jesus and the angels, possess a nature adapted to it. This is the case 
with the spiritual nature. Jesus was changed *is irvivfia into a spirit, 
and was therefore enabled to pass through it to the right hand of the 
Majesty in the heavens. Enoch, Elijah, and Moses, are also cases to 
the point. 

The spiritual body is constituted of flesh and bones vitalized by the 
spirit. This appears from the testimony concerning Jesus. On a cer- 
tain occasion, he unexpectedly stood in the midst of his disciples, at 
which they were exceedingly alarmed, supposing they beheld a spirit, 
or phantasm, as at a former time. But, that they might be assured 
that it was really he himself, he invited them to handle him, and exa- 
mine his hands and feet: u for," said he, "a spirit hath not flesh and 
bones as ye see me have." Incredulous for joy, he gave them further 
proof by eating a piece of broiled fish and of a honeycomb. 4 Thomas 
thrust his hand into his side, and was convinced that he was the same 
who had been crucified, 5 What stronger proof can we need of the 
substantial and tangible nature of the spiritual body ? It is the animal 
body purified, not evaporated into gas, or vapour. It is a bloodless 
body ; for in the case of Jesus he had poured out his blood upon the 
cross. The life of the animal body is in the blood ; but not so that of 
the spiritual body : the life of this resides in that mighty power which 
suspends " the earth upon nothing," and is diffused through the immen- 
sity of space. 

When the Lord Jesus said, " a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye 
see me have," he did not mean to say that a spiritual body had not ; 
but a spirit such as they thought they saw. " They supposed they had 
seen a spirit." In the received reading the same word, Trvewua, is used 
here as in the text which speaks of Jesus as " the Lord the Spirit ;" 
but, evidently, not in the same sense. Indeed, the reading in Gries- 
bach's edition of the original text is clearly the correct one. The word 
rendered spirit is properly <t>airraana f a phantom or mere optical illu- 
sion ; and not ttvevixu, spirit. When Jesus walked upon the sea both 
Matthew 6 and Mark? make use of the same phrase as Luke, and say 

'Johniii. 6. 5 Bom. I. 8, 4. 3 Phil. ii. 9— 11. * Luke xxiv. 36— 43. ' John xx. 27 c Matt siv 

26. ? Mark tL 49. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WOULD. 39 

ihat the disciples when they saw him, " supposed they had seen a 
spirit, and they cried out for fear." In both these places the word is 
phantasma, and not jmcuma. 

Having affirmed that man stands related to two kinds of body, the 
apostle gives us to understand, that in the arrangements of God the 
spiritual system of things is elaborated out of the animal, and not the 
animal out of the spiritual. The natural world is the raw material, 
as it were, of the spiritual; the bricks and mortar, so to speak, of the 
mansion which is to endure for ever. In relation to human nature, 
two men are presented as its types in the two phases it is to assume. 
These Paul styles '• the First Adam," and " the Last Adam," or 
** the first man," and " the second man." The former, he terms 
" earthly ;" because he came from the ground, and goes thither again: 
and, the latter, *' the Lord from heaven ;" because, being "known 
no more after the flesh," he is expected from heaven as the place of 
his final manifestation in " the body of his glory." Then, says John, 
*" we shall be like him" If, therefore, we have been successful in 
depicting the Lord as he is now, while seated at the right hand of 
God ; namely, an incorruptible, honourable, powerful, living person, 
substantial and tangible, shining as the sun, and able to eat and drink, 
and to display all mental and other phenomena in perfection : if the 
reader be able to comprehend such an " Image of the invisible God," 
he can understand what they are to be, who are accounted worthy to 
inherit his kingdom. Therefore, says Paul, " as we have borne the 
image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly," 1 
or, Lord from heaven. 

This corporeal change of those, who have first been morally " re- 
newed by knowledge after the image of him that hath created them" 2 — 
from " sinful flesh " into spirit, is an absolute necessity, before they 
can inherit the kingdom of God. When we come to understand the 
nature of this kingdom, which has to be exhibited in these pages, we 
shall see, that it is a necessity which cannot be dispensed with. 
"That which is corruptible cannot inherit incorruptibility," says the 
apostle. This is the reason why animal men must die, or be trans- 
formed. Our animal nature is corruptible ; but the kingdom of God 
is indestructible, as the prophet testifies, saying, " it shall never be 
destroyed, nor left to other people ; but shall stand for ever.'' 3 Be- 
cause, therefore, of the nature of this kingdom, " flesh and blood 
cannot inherit it ;" and hence the necessity of a man being " born of 
the spirit," or "he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." 4 He 
must be "changed into spirit," put on incorruptibility and immor- 
tality of body, or he will be physically incapable of retaining the 
honor, glory, and power of the kingdom for ever, or even for a 
thousand years. 

But, before the apostle concludes his interesting exposition of " the 
kind of body with which the dead come," he makes known a secret 
which was previously concealed from the disciples at Corinth. It 
would probably have occurred to them, that, if flesh and blood could 
not inherit the kingdom of God, then those who were living at the 

1 1 Cor. xv. 49. 2 Col. iii. 10. » Dan. ii. 44. * John iii. 5, 6 ; 1 Cor. xv. 50. 



40 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

epoch of its establishment, being men in the flesh, could have no part 
in it. But to remove this difficulty, the apostle wrote, saying, " Be- 
hold, I tell you a secret (uuo-t^iov). We shall not all sleep, 
^Koifxijerja-o/uLE^a met. to die, be dead), but we shall all be changed, in a 
moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for it (the 
seventh trumpet) 1 shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incor- 
ruptible (loayytkoi equal to the angels), 2 and we shall be changed 
(sis irvtvfxa, into spirit). 3 $For this corruptible (body) must put on in- 
corruptibility (a<2>0a/><rmi/), and this mortal (body) must put on immor- 
tality (aQavacriav). Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is 
written, u Death is swallowed up in victory." 4 But, that the saints 
might not misapprehend the matter, especially those of them who may 
be contemporary with the seventh trumpet-period, he gave further 
particulars of the secret in another letter. The disciples at Thessalo- 
nica were deeply sorrowing for the loss of some of their body who 
had fallen asleep in death; probably victims to persecution. The 
apostle wrote to comfort them, and exhorted them " not to sorrow as 
the others (ol Xonroi i. e., the unbelievers), who have no hope. For if 
we (the disciples) believe that Jesus died and rose again ;" and be 
not like those, who, by saying, " there is no resurrection of the dead," 
in effect deny it ; " even so," as he rose, *< them also who sleep in 
Jesus will God bring forth («£«, lead out, or produce), by him/'* 
He then proceeds to show the " order " 6 in which the saints are 
changed into spirit, or immortalized, by the Son of ManJ " For," 
says he, " this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we, the 
living, who remain at the Lord's coming, shall not anticipate them 
who are asleep. For the Lord himself shall come dowx from heaven 
with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet 
of God : and the dead in Christ shall rise first : after that we, the 
living, who remain, shall be snatched away at the same time with 
them in clouds to a meeting of the Lord in the air : and thus we 
shall be with the Lord at all times. Wherefore comfort one another 
with these words." 8 

It will be seen from this, that survivors of the dead were not con- 
soled in the first age of Christianity for the loss of their friends, as 
they are now by those who u improve the death " of the influential 
among them. In "funeral sermons," the " immortal souls" of the 
deceased are transported " on angels' wings to heaven," and the living 
are consoled with the assurance, that they are singing the praises of 
God around the throne; feasting with Abraham, and the prophets, 
with the saints and martyrs, and with Jesus and his apostles in the 
kingdom of God ; and they are themselves persuaded, that the souls 
of their relations, now become angels, are watching over them, and 
praying for them ; and that when they die their own souls will be 
re-united with them in the realms of bliss. Need I say to the man 
enlightened in the word, that there is no such comfort, or consolation, 
as this in the law and the testimony of God? Such traditions are 
purely mythological; and come of the Nicolaitan dogma of saved 

1 Rev. xi. 15, 18 ; xv. 8 ; xx. 4. 3 Luke xx. 36. 3 . Cor. xv. 45. 4 Isaiah xxv. 8. 5 2 Cor. iv. 14. 
« 1 Cor. xv. 23. 7 John v. 21, 25, 21, 1% 29. 6 1 Thess. iv. 13—18. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 41 

a ghosts ; and goblins damn'd," which has cancerously extirpated 
"the truth as it is in Jesus." No, the apostles did not point men to 
the day of their death, and its immediate consequents, for comfort ; 
nor did they administer the consolations of the gospel to any who had 
not obeyed it. They offered comfort only to the disciples ; for they 
only are the heirs with Jesus of the kingdom of God. They taught 
these to look to the coming of Christ, and to the resurrection, as the 
time of a re-union with their brethren in the faith. At death, they 
should " rest from their labours, and their works should follow 
them;" and " to them that look for Him shall he appear the second 
time without a sin-offering unto salvation." 1 Such were the practical, 
and intelligible "words," with which the apostles comforted their 
brethren ; but words which have become sealed and cabalistic, both 
to the unlearned and " the wise." 

In conclusion, then, as far as power is concerned, God could have 
created all things upon a spiritual or incorruptible basis at once. The 
globe could have been filled with men and women, equal to the angels 
in nature, power, and intellect, on the sixth day ; but the world would 
have been without a history, and its population characterless. This, 
however, would not have been according to the plan. The animal 
must precede the spiritual as the acorn goes before the oak. This will 
explain many difficulties which are created by systems ; and which 
will for ever remain inexplicable upon the hypotheses they invent, 
The bible has to do with things, not imaginations ; with bodies, not 
phantasmata ; with " living souls " of every species ; with corporeal 
beings of other worlds ; and with incorruptible and undying men : 
but it is mute as death, and silent as the grave, having nofh ng at all to 
say about such " souls" as men pretend to "cure;" except to repudiate 
them as a part of that " philosophy and vain deceit," 2 " which some 
professing have erred concerning the faith." 3 

THE FORMATION OF WOMAN. 

" TJie woman was of the man." 

Adam, having been formed in the image, after the likeness of the 
Elohim on the sixth day, remained for a short time alone in the midst 
of the earthborns of the field. He had no companion who could 
reciprocate his intelligence ; none who could minister to his wants, 
or rejoice with him in the delights of creation ; and reflect the glory 
of his nature. The Elohim are a society, rejoicing in the love and 
attachment of one another; and Adam, being like them though of 
inferior nature, required an object, which should be calculated to 
evoke the latent resemblances of his similitude to theirs. It was no 
better for man to be alone than for them. Formed in their image, 
he had social feelings as well as intellectual and moral faculties, which 
required scope for their practical and harmonious exercise. A purely 
intellectual and abstractly moral society, unattempered by domesti- 
cism, is an imperfect state. It may be very enlightened, very dignified 
and immaculate ; but it would also be very formal, and frigid as the 

> Hsb. ix 28 » Col i. 8. » 1 Tim. vi. 21. 



42 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD 

poles. A being might know all things, and he might scrupulously 
observe the divine law from a sense of duty ; but something more is 
requisite to make him amiable, and beloved by either God or his 
fellows. This amiability the social feelings enable him to develope ; 
which, however, if unfurnished with a proper object, or wholesome 
excitation, react upon him unfavorably, and make him disagreable. 
Well aware of this, the Jehovah Elohim said, ts it is not good that 
the man should be alone. I will make him a help fit for him.'' 1 

But previous to the formation of this help, God caused " every 
living soul " (hoi nephesk chayiah) to pass in review before Adam, 
that he might name them. He saw that each one had its mate ; '' but 
for him there was not found a suitable companion." It was necessary, 
therefore, to form one, the last and fairest of his handyworks. The 
Lord had created man in his own " image and glory ;" but he had 
yet to subdivide him into two ; a negative and a positive division ; an 
active and a passive half; male and female, yet one flesh. The nega- 
tives, or females, of all other species of animals, were formed out of 
the ground ;• and not out of the sides of their positive mates : so that 
the lion could not say of the lioness, " this is bone of my bone, and 
flesh of my flesh ; therefore shall a lion leave his sire and dam, 
and cleave unto the same lioness for ever." The inferior creatures are 
under no such law as this ; as primaries, indeed, the earth is their 
common mother, and the Lord, the " God of all their spirits." They 
have no second selves ; the sexes in the beginning were from the 
ground direct ; the female was not of the male, though the male is by 
her : therefore, there is no natural basis for a social, or domestic, law 
to them. 

But, in the formation of a companion for the first man, the Lord 
Elohim created her upon a different principle. She was to be a 
dependent creature ; and a sympathy was to be established between 
them, by which they should be attached inseparably. It would not 
have been fit therefore to have given her an independent origin from 
the dust of the ground. Had this been the case, there would have 
been about the same kind of attachment between men and women as 
subsists among the creatures below them. The woman's companion- 
ship was designed to be intellectually and morally sympathetic with 
" the image and glory of God," whom she was to revere as her supe- 
rior. The sympathy of the mutually independent earth horns of the 
field, is purely sensual ; and in proportion as generations of mankind 
lose their intellectual and moral likeness to the Elohim, and fall under 
the dominion of sensuality ; so the sympathy between men and wo- 
men evaporates into mere animalism. But, I say, such a degenerate 
result as this, was not the end of her formation. She was not simply 
to be " the mother of all living;" but to reflect the glory of man as 
he reflected the glory of God. 

To give being to such a creature, it was necessary she should be 
formed out of man. This necessity is found in the law which per- 
vades the flesh. If the feeblest member of the body suffer, all the 
other members suffer with it ; that is, pain even in the little finger will 

» Gen. ii. 9: 3 verse 61. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 43 

produce distress throughout the system. Bone sympathizes with 
bone, and flesh with flesh, in all pleasurable, healthful, and painful 
feelings. Hence, to separate a portion of Adam's living substance, 
and from it to build a woman, would be to transfer to her the sympa- 
thies of Adam's nature j and though by her organization, able to 
maintain an independent existence, she would never lose from her 
nature a sympathy with his, in all its intellectual, moral, and physical 
manifestations. According to this natural law, then, the Lord Elohim 
made woman in the likeness of the man, out of his substance. He 
might have formed her from his body before he became a living soul ; 
but this would have defeated the law of sympathy ; for, in inanimate 
matter there is no mental sympathy. She must, therefore, be formed 
from the living bone and flesh of the man To do this was to inflict 
pain; for to cut out a portion of flesh would have created the same 
sensations in Adam as in any of his posterity. To avoid such an in- 
fliction, " the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and 
he slept." While thus unconscious of what was doing, and perfectly 
insensible to all corporeal impressions, the Lord "took out one of his 
ribs, and then closed up the flesh in its place." This was a delicate 
operation ; and consisted in separating the rib from the breast bone 
and spine. But nothing is too difficult for God. The most wonderful 
part of the work had yet to be performed. The quivering rib, with its 
nerves and vessels, had to be increased in magnitude, and formed into a 
human figure, capable of reflecting the glory of the man. This was 
soon accomplished ; for, on the sixth day, l< male and female created 
he them :" and "the rib which the Lord God had taken from man, 
he made a woman, and brought her unto the man." And '• God 
blessed them, and said unto them, be fruitful, and multiply, and re- 
plenish (fill again) the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over 
the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living 
thing that creepeth upon the earth." 

Believing this portion of the testimony of God, need our faith be 
staggered at the resurrection of the body from the little dust that 
remains after its entire reduction ? Surely, the Lord Jesus Christ by 
the same power that formed woman from a rib, and that increased a 
few leaves and fishes to twelve baskets of fragments after five thousand 
were fed and satisfied, can create multitudes of immortal men from a 
few proportions of their former selves: and as capable of resuming 
their individual identity, as was Adam's rib of reflecting hi- mental 
and physical similitude. It is blind unbelief alone that reciui.es the 
continuance of some sort of existence to preserve the identity of the 
resurrected man with his former self. Faith confides in the ability of 
God to do what he has promised, although the believer has not the 
knowledge of how he is to accomplish it. Believing the wonders of 
the past, " he staggers not at the promise of God through unbelief; 
but is strong in faith, giving glory to God." 1 

The testimony of Moses in regard to the formation of woman, 
brings to light a very interesting phenomenon, which has since been 
amply proved to be the result of a natural law. It is, that man may 

i Rom. iv. 20. 



44 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

be made insensible to pain by bziwf placed in a deep sleep. The Lorci 
Elohim availed himself of this law, and subjected the man he had 
made to its operation ; and man, because he is in his likeness, is also 
able to influence his fellow-man in the same way. The art of apply- 
ing the law is called by various names, and may be practised variously. 
The name does not alter the thing. A man's rib might be extracted 
now with as little inconvenience as Adam experienced, by throwing 
him into a deep sleep, which in numerous cases may be easily effected*, 
but there our imitative ability ceases. We could not build up a wo- 
man from the rib. Greater wonders, however, than this will man do 
hereafter; for by "the Man Christ Jesus" will his Bride be created 
from the dust, in his own image after his own likeness, "to the glory 
of God throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." 

When the Lord God presented the newly formed creature to her 
parent flesh, Adam said, " this is now bone of my bone, and flesh of 
my flesh ; she shall be called Ishah (or Outman), because she was 
taken out of Isk, or man. Therefore shall a man leave his father 
and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife ; and they shall be one 
flesh." 1 Thus, Adam pronounced upon himself the sentence that 
was to bind them together for weal or woe, until death should dissolve 
the union, and set them free for ever. This was marriage. It was 
based upon the great fact of her formation out of man ; and consisted 
in Adam taking her to himself with her unconstrained consent. There 
was no religious ceremonial to sanctify the institution ; for the Lord 
himself even abstained from pronouncing the union. No human 
ceremony can make marriage more holy than it is in the nature 
of things. Superstition has made it u a sacrament," and, incon- 
sistently enough, denied it, though **' a holy sacrament," to the 
very priests she has appointed to administer it. But priests and 
superstition have no right to meddle with the matter ; they only 
disturb the harmony, and destroy the beauty, of God's arrange- 
ments. A declaration in the presence of the Lord Elohim, and 
the consent of the woman, before religion was instituted, is the 
only ceremonial recorded in the case. This, I believe, is the 
order of things among " the friends," or nearly so ; and, if all 
their peculiarities were as scriptural as this, there would be but little 
cause of complaint against them. 

" Man," says the apostle, u is the image and glory of God ; but 
the woman is the glory of the man ;" and the reason he assigns is, 
because " the man is not of the woman ; but the woman of the man. 
Neither was the man created for the woman ; but the woman for the 
man.'' 2 She was not formed in the image of man, though she may 
have been in the image of some of the Elohim. " Man " is generic 
of both sexes. When, therefore, Elohim said " let us make man in 
our image ;" and it is added, " male and female created he them," it 
would seem that both the man and the woman were created in the 
image and likeness of Elohim, In this case, some of the Elohim 
are represented by Adam's form, and some by Eve's. I see no reason 
why it should not be so. When mankind rises from the dead, they 

i Gen. ii. 21—24. » 1 Cor. xL 7—9. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 45 

will doubtless rise as immortal men and women; and then, says 
Jesus, " they are equal to the angels ;" on an equality with them in 
every respect. Adam only was in the image of him that created 
him ; but then, the Elohim that do the commandments of the invisible 
God, are the virile portion of their community : Eve was not in their 
ima^e. Their's was restricted to Adam ; nevertheless, she was after 
tiie image and likeness of some of those comprehended in the pro- 
noun " ou?\" Be this as it may, though not in the image, she was 
in the likeness of Adam ; and both " very good" according to the 
subangelic nature they possessed. 

A GREAT MYSTERY. 

" We are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones." 

In writing to the disciples at Ephesus, ihe apostle illustrates the 
submission due from wives to their husbands by the obedience rendered 
to Christ by the community of the faithful in his day. " As the 
church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands 
in every thing." This was an injunction of absolute submission to 
their christian husbands as unto the Lord himself; because "the 
husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the 
church." But, while he enjoins this unqualified obedience, he exhorts 
their husbands to return them due benevolence, not to treat them with 
bitterness, but to love them " even as Christ loved the church, and 
gave himself up for it" If their wives, however, were disobedient 
and perverse, and chose to depart, " let them ; a brother is not under 
bondage in such cases." 1 They are like those who will not submit to 
Christ. The love which should subsist between christian brethren 
and sisters in the married state, is such as Christ manifested for the 
church by anticipation. " While we were yet sinners Christ died for 
us," says the apostle. 2 This is the greatest love a man can possibly 
show, that he should die for his enemies ; and this is the kind of love 
which Paul (who by the bye was never tried by a termagant wife) 
commends to the attention of the Ephesians ; though always on the 
supposition, that the wives •' adorn the hidden man of the heart with 
that which is incorruptible, even a meek and quiet spirit, which is in 
the sight of God of great price. For after this manner in the old 
time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, 
being in subjection to their own husbands : even as Sara obeyed 
Abraham, calling him Lord: whose daughters such women are, as 
long as they do well, and are not dismayed at any threat." 3 

As he had introduced the subject of matrimonial love and obedi- 
ence, and had adduced the love of Christ for them all as his church, 
by way of illustration ; he proceeds to show the object for which he 
loved them even unto death ; the relationship which was consequently 
established between them ; and the sacrifice which they ought cheer- 
fully to make for him, who had loved them so devotedly. His object 
in giving himself for the church before it was formed, was that those 
who should afterwards compose it " might be sanctified and cleansed 

» 1 Cor. vii. 15. ' Rom. r. 6, 8. s 1 Peter iii. S— 6 



46 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

in the laver of the water (to \ovtpwtov VSaroi) by the word (iv fanarij) 
that," at the resurrection, " he might present it to himself a glorious 
church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing ; but holy and 
without blemish." u Ye are clean," said Jesus to his disciples, 
"through the word which I have spoken to you." 1 This word, 
which is defined to be " the law and the testimony," 2 is the gieai 
instrument of holiness and purification. It changes men's mind« 
loosens their attachment to earthly things ; causes them to place their 
affection on things above ; creates a new and right spirit within them ; 
diffuses the love of God abroad in their hearts ; separates them from 
sinners ; leads them into Christ ; and developes in their lives, fruit 
characteristic of that repentance which needs not to be repenled of. 
The Lord Jesus styles it, " the word of the kingdom ;" 3 and Peter, 
the incorruptible seed ; 4 and Paul, " the word of the truth of the 
gospel;" 5 and John, "God's seed;" 6 and by James it is termed, 
"the word of truth,"? with which the invariable and unvacillating 
Father of lights begets his children, that they should be •' a kind of 
first fruits of his creatures." It is by this word that an individual is 
renewed or renovated ; so as, in an intellectual and moral sense, to 
become a "new man;" as appears from what the apostle says to the 
brethren at Colosse : " Ye have put on the new man, which is renewed 
by knowledge* after the image of him that created him." This renew- 
ing affects the spirit of the mind, which may be known to be reno- 
vated, by aman having turned from his natural subserviency to " the lust 
of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life," to " righteousness 
and true holiness." When the mental disposition, called " the heart," 
is renewed, it becomes a mirror, as it were, in which one skilled in 
the word of the kingdom, can discern the spirit, or behold a reflection 
of the Divine Nature. This image of God in a man's character can 
only be created by the word of the truth of the gospel of the king- 
dom. A man may be very " pious " according to the standard of 
piety set up and approved by his fellow-men ; but, if he be ignorant 
of the renewing elements, — if he neither know nor understand, and 
consequently, and necessarily, be faithless of the law and testimony of 
God, " there is no light in him." He is walking in a vain show ; 
" in the vanity of his mind, having his understanding darkened, being 
alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in hhn, 
because of the blindness of his heart." 10 The law and the testimony 
are styled by Peter, " God's knowledge ;" " whereby are given unto 
us exceeding great and precious promises : that by these," i. e., by 
the understanding and belief of these, " ye might be partakers of the 
Divine Nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world 
through lust 11 Now, the " testimony of God " came by the Holy 
Spirit, by which God testified in his prophets ; 12 and, in the last days, 
spoke through his son 13 and the apostles. 14 Hence, the effects of 
the word believed are attributed to the spirit ; and because the word 
sets men to breathing in God's moral atmosphere, it is termed " spirit 

» John xv. 3. 2 Isaiah viii. 20. 3 >i at t. xiii. 19. * 1 Peter i. 23. s Col. i. 5. « 1 John ill. 9. 

' Jumes i. 18 8 Col. iii. 10. » Eph. iv. 23, 24 : "> verse 18. » 2 Peter i. 2—4. » Nell. it. 80 

« Heb. I. 1, 8 ; John iii. 84; v. 47 ; vi. 63 ; vii. 16 ; xii. 48, 40. |« Matt. x. 19, 20. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 47 

and life." These remarks will explain the saying of the apostle to 
Titus, " according to his mercy God saved us through the lavcr of 
regeneration, and renewal of the Holy Spirit." 1 This is parallel 
to the saying, " sanctified and cleansed in the laver of the water by 
the ivord;" Tor the reader must not suppose, that any man, woman, or 
child, can be regenerated, or born again, by being plunged into a 
bath, who is ignorant of the word. The Holy Spirit does not renew 
the heart of man as he renews the mortal body, when through Jesus 
he raises it from the dead. In this case, the power is purely physical. 
But, when the heart is the subject of renewal, it is by the knowledge 
of the written testimony of God, or the word. " God," says Peter, 
speaking of the gentile believers, " purified their hearts by faith ;'* 2 
and Paul prays, "that Christ may dwell in their hearts by faith." 3 
Now, faith comes by hearing the word of God ; 4 in other words, it is 
the belief of God's tesiimony concerning things to come, which are 
not seen ; 5 and without which, it is impossible to please him. 6 When a 
man is renewed by the truth, he is renewed by the spirit, and not 
before. There is no such thing in the scriptures as a renewed igno- 
rant man. Ignorance of the testimony of God, and regenerate- j, 
are utterly incompatible. The truth is the purifier to those only who 
understand and obey it ; 7 and there is no moral purity, or sanctifica- 
tion of spirit before God, without it. It is only believers of the 
truth, then, who can be the subjects of a regeneration by being sub- 
merged "in the laver of the water." When they come out of this, 
they have been " washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the 
Lord Jesus, by the spirit of God.'* 8 

The truth to be believed is the gospel of the kingdom and name of 
Jesus Christ.9 When this is understood, and heartily received, 1 . 
produces a disposition of mind, such as was in Abraham and Jesus, 
and which is called repentance. Believers, so disposed, are the be- 
gotten of God, and have become as little children. They believe 
'* the exceeding great and precious promises," together with the things 
testified concerning the sufferings and resurrection of Jesus. He fell 
into a deep sleep ; and, while thus unconscious and insensible, His 
side was opened by a spear, and forthwith rushed blood and water. 10 
Being awoke out of his sleep, he was built up a spiritual body, flesh 
and bones ; and, by his ascension, presented to the Father as the 
federal representative of his church. This is the aggregate of those, 
who, believing these things, have been introduced into Christ through 
the laver of the water ; according to the saying of the scriptures, 
" ye are all the children of God in Christ Jesus through the faith. 
For as many as have been baptized into Christ have entered into 
Christ," (susdvo-aa-Qe). * * * ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And 
if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according 
to the promise." 11 A community of such individuals as these con- 
stitutes the mystical body of Christ. By faith, its elements are " mem- 
bers of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones." Hence, they are 
" bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh j" and, therefore, the beloved 

Tit. iii. 5. « Acts xv. 9. 3 Eph. iii. 17. « Rom. x. 17. * Heb. xi. 1 ; « verse 6. * 1 Peter i. 22. 
I Cot. yu 1L, 9 Acts viii. 12. '° John xix. &J r 34. >' Gal. iii. 26—29. 



48 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 



Eve of the last Adam, the Lord who is to come from heaven, and 
make her of the same holy spiritual nature as his own. Thus, the 
church is figuratively taken out of the side of her Lord ; for every 
member of it believes in the remission of sins through his shed blood; 
and they all believe in the real resurrection of his flesh and bones, 
for their justification unto life by a similar revival from the dead. 
*• Your bodies are the members," or flesh and bones, " of Christ ; 
* * * and he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit/' 1 " I have 
espoused you to one husband," says Paul, " that I may present you 
as a chaste virgin to Christ."' 2 It will be perceived, then, that the 
church as defined, is in the present state the espoused of Christ, but 
not actually married. She is in the formative state, being moulded 
under the hand of God. When she shall be completed, God will 
then present her to the Man from heaven, " arrayed in fine linen, 
clean and white.' 13 This is she of whom the poet sings, " Hearken, 
O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear ; forget also thine 
own people, and thy father's house ; so shall the king greatly desire 
thy beauty : for he is thy Lord ; and worship thou him. The king's 
daughter is all glorious within; her clothing is of wrought gold. She 
shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework; the virgins, 
her companions that follow her, shall be brought unto thee. With 
gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought ; they shall enter into 
the king's palace " 4 The presentation of Eve to the first Adam was 
the signal of rejoicing to the Morning Stars; and we perceive that the 
manifestation of Messiah's Queen will be attended with the "Alleluia" 
of a great multitude, sounding like the roaring of many waters, and 
the echoes of mighty thunderings, saying, " let us be glad and rejoice, 
and give honor to the Lord God omnipotent : for the marriage of the 
Lamb is come, and his betrothed hath made herself ready." 

Such is the relationship and destiny of the true church, styled by 
Paul, " the One Body." It is forming by the word ; or, taking it as 
formed in the apostolic age, but not presented, the apprehension of 
the apostle has been sadly realized. '* I fear," says he, •' lest by any 
means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your 
minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." The 
tempter has seduced the betrothed. The simplicity in Chiist is no 
longer characteristic of a community. It is corrupted on every side ; 
and the ruin of the transgression alone prevails. Nevertheless, 
although there be no hope for the professing world, seeing that it is 
too " wise in its own conceit;" too self-satisfied with its supposed 
illumination ; glorifying itself, and saying, '* I am rich, and increased 
with goods, and have need of nothing, and knows not," and will not 
be persuaded, " that it is wretched, and miserable, and poor, and 
blind, and naked :" 5 — seeing, I say, that this is the irremediable con- 
dition of the religious public, yet there remains scope for the deliver- 
ance of those, who are disposed to obey God rather than men. If 
I hey would become bone of Christ's bone, and flesh of his flesh, they 
must m leave father and mother, and be joined unto the wife." They 
find themselves now, perhaps, members of denominations as they 

• 1 Cor. vi. 15, 17. 2 2 Cor. xi. 2. 3 Rev. six. 7, 8. Psalm xlv. 10—15. * Rev. iii. 1? 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WOULD. 49 

happen to be led. These are their parentage according to the fleshly 
mind. They must be forsaken, and men must become "one flesh" 
and " one spirit " in the Lord, if they would inherit the kingdom of 
God. 1 " This is a great mystery ;"" says Paul, "but I speak con- 
cerning Christ and the church." 2 This mystery, I have endeavored 
to elucidate in these remarks, though necessarily in a very brief, and 
therefore imperfect manner. When I shall have finished the work 
before me, it will have been more minutely unfolded, and, I trust, 
convincingly explained. 

EDEN. 

" In Eden." 

When Moses penned the words " in Eden,*' 3 he was westward in 
" the wilderness of the land of Egypt." From the expression, then, 
we are to understand, that there was a country styled Eden in his 
day, which lay to the eastward of his position. Adam and Eve were 
its aborigines. It was " the East " of the Egyptians, as Ohio, Indiana 
and Illinois are " the West " to the Atlantic American States. It 
was quite an extensive range of country, and in after times became 
the seat of powerful dominions. It appears to have been well watered 
by the branches, or tributaries, of "a river that went," or flowed, "out 
of it." 4 These were four principal streams, whose names, as o-iven bv 
Moses, are the Pison, "which compasseth the whole land ofHavi- 
lah ;" the Gilion, "the same is it which compasseth the whole land of 
Khush," or Khushistan ; the third, the Hiddekel, or Tigris ; " that is 
it which goeth eastward to Assyria. And the fourth river is the 
Euphrates," 5 frequently styled in the scriptures, " the Great River." 6 
On the map before me, there are four rivers which flow together, and 
at length form a river which falls into the Persian Gulph. This indi- 
cates the country called Eden, namely, that which is watered by these 
rivers ; so that we may reasonably conclude, that in earlv times it 
comprehended the land east of the Jordan, Syria, Assyria, part of 
Persia, Khushistan, and the original settlements of Ishmael.7 

This ,'ountry, in after ages, came to be denominated " the Garden of 
the Lord ;" and the kings who reigned in it, "the Trees of Eden." It 
was no doubt termed the Lord's garden as a whole, from the fact of 
his having, in the beginning, planted a garden in it where he put the 
man ; so that the name of a small part of Eden, came to be applied by 
his family in the time of Seth, Noah, Shem, Abraham, and Moses, to 
the whole region ; more especially as the future paradise is to occupy a 
considerable portion of its ancient limits. 

The plain of Jordan appears to have been part of Eden from the 
following texts. " Lot beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well 
watered everywhere as the garden of the Lord. Then Lot chose him 
all the plain of Jordan ; and Lot journeyed east; and dwelled in the 
cities of the plain ;" 8 that is, in the East, or Eden. 

There is a prophecy in Ezekiel, predicting the overthrow of the 

Matt. x. 37 2 Eph. v. 22—32. 3 Gen. ii. 8 ; * verse 10 ; » verses 1 1—14. 6 Gen. xy. 13. 
7 Gen. xxv. 18. 9 Gen. xiii. 10—12. 



50 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

Egyptian Pharoah by the king of Babylon, " the mighty one of the 
Heathen." In setting forth the certainty of his overthrow, God reca- 
pitulates the power and dominion of the Ninevite dynasty of Assyria; 
which, however, was not able to withstand the king of Babylon, and 
therefore there was no hope for Egypt of a successful resistance. In 
the recapitulation, the Ninevite Assyrian is styled, "a cedar in 
Lebanon?' that is, his dominion extended over the land of the ten 
tribes of Israel, in which are the cedar-crowned mountains of Lebanon. 
After describing the greatness of his power by the magnitude of the 
cedar, the Lord says, " the cedars in the garden of God could not hide 
him ; nor was any tree in the garden of God like unto him in his 
beauty. I made him fair by the multitude of his branches ; so that 
all the trees of Eden, in the garden of God, envied him." 1 These 
trees 2 are representative of the royalties of Mesopotamia, Syria, 
Israel, &o, which the kings of Assyria had abolished; 3 and which 
" could not hide him," or prevent him getting the ascendancy over 
them. It is clear, then, from the terms of this beautiful allegory, 
that the countries I have indicated are comprehended in Eden ; that 
as a whole it is styled the garden of the Lord ; and that the trees are 
the royalties of the land. 

That Eden extended to the Mediterranean, or " Great Sea," 
appears from Ezekiel's prophecy against Tyre. Addressing the 
Tyrian royalty, he says, " thou hast been in Eden, the garden of the 
Lord. Thou wast upon the holy mountain of God. Thou wast per- 
fect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was 
found in thee. Therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the moun- 
tain of God. Thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any 
more." 4 The meaning of this is obvious to one acquainted with the 
history of the kingdom of Tyre. It was a royalty of Palestine in 
Upper Galilee, whose king, Hiram, was in intimate alliance with 
Solomon. He appears to have been a proselyte worshipper of the 
God of Israel ; whom his successors some time afterwards forsook ) 
and therefore God suppressed the kingdom of Tyre by Nebuchad- 
nezzar for seventy years ; and finally by the Greeks. 

Eden has been a field of blood from the beginning of the contest 
between the " Seed of the Woman," and the " Seed of the Serpent," 
until now ; and will yet continue to be until the serpent power be 
broken upon the mountains of Israel. It was in Eden that Abel died 
by the hand of Cain. There also Abel's antitype was wounded in 
the heel, when put to death upon the accursed tree ; and lastly, to fill 
up the measure of the iniquity of the blood-defiled land, the ser- 
pents of Israel slew the son of Barachus between the temple and 
altar. But the blood of God's saints shed in Eden, did not cry to 
him for vengeance without effect ; for as the Lord Jesus declared, so 
it came to pass. "Behold," said he to the vipers of his day, ** I 
send you prophets, and wise men, and scribes ; and some of them ye 
will kill and crucify; aud some of them ye will scourge in your 
synagogues, and persecute from city to city : that upon you may 
come all the righteous blood shed upon the land, from the blood of 

1 Ezck. xxxi. 3, 3, 9. ' Dan. ir. SO, 92. » Isaiah xxxvii. 12, 13. * Ezek. xxviii. 13, 16, 19. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 51 

righteous Abel unto the blood of Zecharias, son of Barachus, whom 
ye shall slay between the temple and the altar." 1 

Eden is emphatically the Lord's land, or garden; and from the 
creation till the breaking off of Israel's olive branch, the principal, 
and almost only, theatre upon which he exhibited his wonders to the 
nations in the days of old. Egypt and its wilderness may be excepted 
for forty years. Beyond its limits was outer darkness. Eden only 
w r as favored with light, until the gospel found its way among the 
nations of the west ; and, although darkness covers the land, and 
gross darkness the people ; yet the Lord, its light, will arise upon it, 
and his glory shall be seen there. 2 

THE GARDEN OF EDEN. 
" And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden." 

While Eden w r as " the East " eastward of the wilderness, the gar- 
den of Eden was eastward in Eden. " Eden the garden of the Lord," 
and " the garden of Eden," are quite different ideas. The former 
designates the whole of Eden as the Lord's garden; the latter, as 
merely a plantation in some part of it. To plant a garden is to fence 
in a certain piece of land, and to adorn it with fruit and ornamental 
trees and shrubs. If unenclosed, and consequently, unguarded, it is 
not a garden. The name of the plantation implies, that its surface 
was protected from the invasion of the animals, whose habits made 
them unfit tenants of a garden. The place, then, was an inclopure, 
planted with " every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for 
food."" Its situation, Moses says, was "eastward," having a river 
flowing through it to water it. I suspect from this, that it laid some- 
where between the Gulph of Persia, and the junction of the 
Euphrates and the Tigris, The text reads, " and a river went out of 
Eden to water the garden : and from thence it was parted, and 
became into four heads;" which I should interpret thus: — a river 
flowing out of Eden was caused to water the garden on its way to the 
sea ; and from the garden northward, the river diverged into its 
tributaries, which terminated at four several heads. The heads were 
not in the garden, hut at remote distances from it. The garden of 
Eden was watered by only one, and not by four rivers ; as it is written, 
<4 a river went out to water it ;" which certainly excludes the four 
from its inclosure. 

In the septuagint of this text, the word garden is expressed by 
napadEHro?, which is transferred into our language without translation. 
Paradise is a Persian word adopted into the Greek, and expressed in 
Hebrew by parades or pardes. It signifies a park, a forest, or pre- 
serve ; a garden of trees of various kinds, a delightful grove, &c. 
It is found in these texts : — *' I made me gardens (paradises) and 
orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kinds of fruits ;" 3 and, 
" a garden enclosed (a paradise) is my sister spouse, &c ; thy plants 
ure an orchard of pomegranates, &c."* The latter text is part of a 
description of Solomon's vineyard, representative of that part of Eden 

! Matt, jcxiii. 35. * Isaiah be 1, 2. 3 Bcctes. ii. 5. « Cant. iv. 12, 13. 

D 2 



52 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

over which he reigned ; and metaphorical of its beauty, fertility, and 
glory, when the Heir of the vineyard, the " greater than Solomon," 
shall come to Zion, and " marry the land " of Eden, as defined in the 
everlasting covenant made with Abraham i For so it is written, "thy 
land,0 Zion, shall no more be termed desolate : but thoushalt be called 
Hephzibah, (i. c, my beloved is in her), and thy land Beulah, (i. e., 
married): for Jehovah delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be 
married. For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons 
marry thee : and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall 
thy God rejoice over thee." 2 

When the marriage, or union, takes place between the sons of Zion, 
and their king, with the Land of Promise in Eden, it will again be- 
come the garden of the Lord, or Paradise, which his own right hand 
hath planted. For " the Lord shall comfort Zion : he will comfort 
all her waste places ; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and 
her desert like the garden of the Lord ; joy and gladness shall be 
found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of melody." 3 " Instead of 
the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the briar shall 
come up the myrtle tree : and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for 
an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off." 4 At that time, " I will 
open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys : 
I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs 
of water. I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, 
and the myrtle tree, and the oil tree ; I will set in the desert the fit 
tree, and the pine, and the box together : that they (Esrael) may see, 
and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the 
Lord hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it." 5 

These testimonies reveal a future state in regard to Eden, of which 
its primitive garden is a beautiful and appropriate representation. 
Once the seat of a paradise on a small scale, it is destined to be trans- 
formed from its present desolation into " the Paradise of God." The 
country of the four rivers, even to the west from sea to sea, is prede- 
termined to shine forth as "the glory of all lands." Paradise hath 
no other locality. Other orbs may have their paradises ; but as far 
as man is concerned, the Paradise of God will be by him planted in 
Eden according to «' the promise." " In that day, shall Israel be the 
third with Egypt and Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the 
land;" that is, of Eden : " whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, say- 
ing, Blessed be Egypt, my people, and Assyria, the work of my 
hands, and Israel, mine inheritance." 6 

In the letter to the congregation at Ephesus, the Spirit says, " to 
him that overcometh will I give to eat of the Tree of Life, which is 
in the midst of the Paradise of God." 7 The simple import of this is 
as follows. The saints of God are termed in scripture, "Trees of 
Righteousness," which bring forth good fruit ; and the King of Saints, 
the Tree of Life. This, then, is the symbol of Jesus as the giver of 
life. " As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father ; 
so he that eateth me" says Jesus, " even he shall live by me"* 

\ Q«n. *t. 18. » Isaiah lxii. 4, 5. ' Isaiah li. 3. * Isaiah lv. 13. * Isaiah xli. 17—20. c Isaiftb 
xix. 24, 26. * Rev. ii. 7. • Jolm vi. 57. 



RUDIMENTS OP THE WORLD. 

Hence, to give a man to eat of the Tree of Life, is for the Lord Jesus 
to raise a true believer from among the dead to incorruptible life. He 
will then eat, or partake, of that life, which he is ordained to bestow, 
who said of himself, " I am the way, and the truth, and the life" 
But, none of the believers, or heirs of life, can partake of the life- 
giving tree, until it is manifested in the Paradise of God ; that is, 
until the Lord appears in his kingdom. 1 "We shall see in the second 
part of this work the particulars concerning this kingdom. I shall, 
therefore content myself with remarking here, that when it is mani- 
fested, it will be established in the Lord's land, that is, in Eden. 
Hence, the promise, interpreted into plain English, is — " To the be- 
liever that overcomes the world, 2 will I, the Lord, who am the life, 
give glory, honor, and immortality, when I come to stand on the 
Mount of Olives, 3 and to re-establish the kingdom and throne of 
David, as in the days of old/' 4 There is no immortality, nor Para- 
dise until then ; neither can any attain to them unless they " overcome 
the world ;" for the promise is only " to him that overcometh. ,, 

But, to this doctrine sceptics object, that Paradise must have a 
present existence somewhere ; seeing that, on the day of his cruci- 
fixion, Jesus told the thief that he should be with him in Para- 
dise on that day ; as it is written, " I say to thee, to-day shalt 
thou be with me in Paradise." 5 I admit, that it is so written in 
English ; but, I find there are various readings and punctuations 
in the Greek. In the first place, the thief's petition is differently 
worded in some manuscripts. In the common version it reads, 
"remember me, Lord, when thou comest in thy kingdom, kvry 
Saaikeia arov : but in others, it is various, though in sense the same 
— as, " remember me when thou comest in the day of thy coming, 
ii/Tj; lifxipa -til? eXeuo-ews <rou. Now the Lord " comes in his kingdom" 
"in the day of his coming;" therefore, I say, the two phrases are 
in sense the same, only the latter more plainly suggests to " the 
unskilful in the word of righteousness," 6 the import of the term 
" to-day," in the answer to the petition. 

In the next place, Jesus did not evade the thief's prayer, but 
gave him a direct and intelligible reply. He told him, in effect, 
that what he requested should be granted ; in other words, that when 
lie was himself in his kingdom he should be there too. But, does the 
reader imagine, that Jesus told him the time when, seeing that he was 
not even himself acquainted with the time when the Jewish State, as 
constituted by the Mosaic code, should be abolished ? And, till this was 
set aside, he could not come in his kingdom ; for then he is to sit 
and rule, and be a priest upon his throne;? which he could not be 
co-existent with the law : because the law of Moses would permit 
no one to officiate as a priest, who was not of the tribe of Levi; 
and Jesus was descended from Judah. 8 *? Heaven and earth," or 
the Mosaic constitution of things in Eden, " shall pass away," 
said Jesus : " but of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not 
the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. "9 

• 2 Tim. iv. 1, 8 ; 1 Peter i. 7, 13. 2 i John v. 4.. 3 Zech. xiv. 4. * Amos ix. 11. » Luka xxiii. 48 
« Heb. v. 13. » Zecl\. ri. 12, 13, 15. » He b. vii. 12—14. » Mark xiii. 31, 32. 



54 RUPIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

Furthermore, does the reader suppose, that the Lord informed 
the thief of the time when he would come in his kingdom ; or, that 
it could possibly be, that he came in his kingdom on the day of his 
suffering ; seeing that on the forty-third day afterwards, he refused to 
tell even the apostles, the times and the seasons when he would 
*f restore again the kingdom to Israel ?" " It is not for you to know 
the times and the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own 
power." 1 This was his language to the apostles. The kingdom could 
not be restored again to Israel under the Mosaic code. This had 
" decayed, and waxed old, and was ready to vanish away." 2 It was 
to be " cast down to the ground," the daily sacrifice was to be taken 
away, and the temple and city to be demolished, by the Little Horn of 
the Goat, or Roman power. 5 To tell them of the times and the 
seasons of the kingdom, would have been to have informed them of 
this national catastrophy ; of which, they were kept in ignorance, 
that they might not fall asleep, but be continually on the watch. 

But, though Jesus did not then know the times and the seasons of 
the kingdom, he knows them now ; for, about thirty years after the 
destruction of Jerusalem, " God gave him a revelation of the things 
which must shortly come to pass ;" 4 and in this apocalypse, the times 
and seasons are set forth in order. But, to return to the case of the 
thief. In saying " to-day," Jesus did not, and could not, tell him the 
precise time when he should be with him in Paradise. In some Greek 
manuscripts, there is a various, and no doubt the correct, punctuation. 
The comma, instead of being after " thee," is placed after " to-day ;" 
as, "I say unto thee to-day, — thou shalt be with me in the Paradise, 
sv to Trapaotio-M :" that is, " at this time, or, I now say to thee, thou 
shalt be with me in my kingdom in the day of my coming." 

But, if the objector insist upon an interpretation of the passage as 
it stands in the common version, then let it be so ; his position will be 
by no means less easy to carry. His instantaneous translation of 
souls to Paradise at death, as far as it is fortified by this passage, 
hangs upon a thread, like the sword of the Syracusan tyrant ; and 
that is, the word " to-day." This is a scripture term, and must be 
explained by the scripture use of it. In the sacred writings, then, the 
term is used to express a period of over two thousand years. This 
use of it occurs in David, as it is written, " To-day if ye will hear his 
voice, harden not your hearts, lest ye enter not into my rest." 5 The 
apostle, commenting upon this passage about one thousand years after 
it was written, says, " exhort one another daily, while it is called to-day ;" 
and, " labor, to enter into the rest that remaineth for the people of 
God." 6 Thus, it was called " to-day," when David wrote ; and •' to- 
day," when Paul commented upon it. This was a long day ; but one, 
however, which is not yet finished ; and will continue unclosed until 
the manifestation of the rest in the Paradise of God. If it be ad- 
mitted, that we are still in "the day of salvation," then it must be 
received as true, that we are living " while it is called to-day" — that 
" to-day " is now; and this "now" will be present until the Lord 

Acts i. 3, 6, ". * Heb. viii. 13 ' Dan. viii. 9—12, 24 ; ix. 26. « Rev. I.'l. 5 Psalm xcv. 7- -II. 
« Heb. iii. 13; iv. 11,9. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 55 

Jesus enters into his rest, 1 which he cannot do until he has finished the 
work God has given him to do. 2 "Behold, now is the time of 
acceptance; behold, now is the day " or the "to-day," " of saloa- 
tion," 3 — 'a period of time from Joshua to the future glorious manifesta- 
tion of Christ in the kingdom, to say nothing of "the accepted 
time" to the patriarchs, before the typical rest of Israel in the 
promised land. 

This " to-day," however, is limited both to Jew and Gentile ; 
and in defining this limitation, Paul tells us, that " to-day " means, 
" after so long a time." " God limiteth a certain day" says he, 
" saying in David, to-day, after so long a time : as it is said, to-day 
if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts." 4 When this time 
has elapsed, it will no longer be " to-day ;" but to-inorrom f or the 
seventh day of the millennial week. If then we substitute the 
apostle's definition for the word " to-day " in Christ's reply to the 
thief, it will read thus : — " Verily, I say to thee, after so long a time 
thou shalt be with me in the Paradise ;" but, how many years it would 
be before that time terminated, he gave the petitioner not the slightest 
intimation of. 

Lastly, is it not the very climax of absurdity to talk of Jesus being 
'* in his kingdom," or " in the Paradise," which were synonymous, 
while he was lying dead in the tomb ! Is his kingdom among the 
dead ? He told the Pharisees it was among the living. " Oh, but," 
says one, " he descended into hell ;" u true," says another, " and 
while he was there he preached the gospel to the dead, and proclaimed 
repentance to the spirits in prison. He and the thief, that is to say, 
their souls, were there together as soon as death released them. This 
was Paradise." " Not exactly so," adds a third. " That savors too 
much of purgatory. They were in an intermediate state of blessed- 
ness before the throne of God, in the kingdoms beyond the skies." 
" How can that be," says a fourth ; u is the blessedness in God's pre- 
sence only intermediate ? They went straight to the fulness of joy 
for evermore." Why, then, was Jesus raised that he might go to the 
Father, 5 if he were with the Father before ; and, where did he leave 
the thief, for he was not raised ; and if not raised, but left behind, 
how can he be with the Lord in Paradise ? When this question is 
answered, it will be time enough to glance at the traditions extant 
upon this subject— dogmatisms, however, which none who understand 
the gospel of the kingdom can possibly entertain. 

M A N'S DOMINION. 

" Let them hare dominion." 

The garden being prepared in Eden, the Lord placed the man there 
whom he had formed, It was there the " deep sleep " came over 
him, and he first beheld his bride. They were now settled in Para- 
dise; and, protected by its inclosure from the intrusion of the inferior 
creatures, they passed their days in blissful tranquillity ; innocent of 
transgression, and in peaceful harmony with God and the creatures 

! Tsalm cxxxii. 13—18. 2 l sa iah xlix. 5, 6, 8: xl. l<>. 3 2 Cor. vi 2. * Heb. iv. 7. 5 John xvi. 16 



56 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

he had made. Adam dressed the garden and kept it. This was his 
occupation. Though as yet sinless, it was no part of his enjoyments 
to be idle. To eat bread in the sweat of the face is sorrowful ; but 
Jo work without toil is an element of health, and cheerfulness ; and 
is doubtless the rule of life to all the intelligences of the universe of 
God. 

But, he was not simply an inhabitant of the Paradise, placed there 
to dress and keep it." The work before him was to begin the re- 
plenishment, and subjugation of the earth. For in the blessing pro- 
nounced upon them, God said, "be fruitful, and multiply, and 
replenish the earth, and subdue it." The material was all before him. 
The earth was to be peopled ; and the culture of the garden, as the 
model of improvement, to be extended as his posterity spread them- 
selves over its surface. 

This command to " replenish the earth," strengthens my previous 
conclusion, that the earth had been inhabited, at some period anterior 
to the creation of the six days j and that its population had been all 
swept away by a catastrophe similar to the Noachic flood. That 
" replenish " means to fill the earth again ; is manifest from the use 
of the word in the blessing pronounced upon Noah. As it is written, 
" and God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, i be 
fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.'" There is no room 
for dispute here. Every one must admit that it signifies to fill again; 
for, having been filled by Adam, all his posterity, except eight per- 
sons, were swept away by the deluge ; and Noah and his sons were to 
supply their place, or refill it, as at this day. I see, therefore, no 
good reason why the same word should not be similarly interpreted 
in both cases ; which I have concluded to do. 

Man's conquests in a sinless state were to be over rocks, mountains, 
seas, and rivers, by which he might subdue them to his own conve- 
nience and enjoyment ; and, perhaps, had he continued innocent of 
transgression until his mission was accomplished ; that is, until by his 
fruitfulness he had filled the earth again with people, and had subdued 
it from its natural wildness to a paradisaic state — his nature would 
have been exalted to an equality with the Elohim ; and the earth, 
without any violent changes, have become his dwelling place for ever. 
But, the creator foreseeing that man would transgress, laid the founda- 
tion of the earth upon such principles as would afterwards accommo- 
date it to his altered circumstances. Had he foreseen a result different 
from what has actually come to pass, he would, doubtless, have 
framed or constituted it, with reference to that result. But, while he 
did not necessitate man's transgression, his plan was to constitute a 
natural world with reference to it as its basis ; and then, on the other 
hand, without necessitating man's obedience, to constitute a spiritual, 
or incorruptible, order of things upon the earth, having an intelligent 
and voluntary conformity to his precepts, as the foundation upon 
which it should be built. This, then, is the present order of things. 
Man is replenishing the earth and subduing it. He is reducing it 
from its natural wildness. Subduing land and sea to the convenience 
of nations \ and subjugating likewise, the wild creatures of his own 



RUDIMEXTS OF THE WORLD. $7 

species to law and order, and exterminating the untameable;— he is 
preparing the world for an advance to a more exalted, yet not perfect, 
state, which the Man from heaven shall introduce, and establish ; nor, 
however, upon the destruction of nature and society, but upon the 
improvement of the first, and the regeneration of the last; which 
shall continue for a thousand years, as the intermediate state between 
the present purely animal and natural, and the final purely spiritual, 
or incorruptible, and unchangeable constitution of the globo. 

In carrying his mission into effect, it was necessary that the animal 
man should have dominion. Pie was too feeble to execute it without 
assistance; and there was no source from which he could receive 
voluntary aid. It was needful, therefore, that he should receive power 
by which he could compel the co-operation he required. For this 
reason, as well as for his own defence against the inconvenient 
familiarity of the inferior creatures with their lord, God gave him 
dominion over them all. " Have dominion," said he, " over the fish 
of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over 
all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the 
earth." This was the charter of man's sovereignty over flesh and 
blood. Himself the king, and all living creatures the subjects of his 
dominion, As to his own species, however, he was permitted to be 
neither a law to himself, nor to his fellows. 

The right of man to exercise lordship over his fellow man beyond 
the circle of his own family, was not granted to him " by the. grace 0j 
God" God's grace only conferred upon him what I have already 
stated. Even his domestic sovereignty was to cease, when the time 
came for one to leave father and mother. After this separation, all 
paternal rule ended, and the only bondage which continued was the 
yoke of affection. Man rules in his family by the grace of God, 
which says, u children obey your parents in the Lord; for this is 
right. Honor thy father and mother ; which is the first command- 
ment with a promise ; that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest 
live long in the land." This obedience is founded on the fitness of 
things; but even this is not enjoined absolutely. It is only " parents 
in the Lord,'''' who have a divine right to expect unqualified obedi- 
ence from the christian children of their household. If parents not 
in the Lord, require their children to do contrary to, or to abstain 
from doing, his will, obedience should be firmly, but affectionately, 
refused. This would probably produce trouble and division in the 
family, if the parent were an uncultivated man of the flesh, or a 
bigot. In that case, he would behave like a tyrant, and endeavour to 
coerce them to obey him, rather than their conviction of the truth; 
whose nature it is to divide between flesh and spirit, sinners and saints, 
and to create a man's foes out of the members of his own household. 1 
But such children should remember that " it is better to obey God 
than man;" 2 and that he that loves parents more than Jesus, is not 
worthy of him. Better leave the paternal roof as an outcast, than to 
dishonor him by preferring their laws to his. 

If man's domestic sovereignty be thus qualified and limited by the 

» Matt. x. 35, 36. * Acts iv, 19; y. 29. 



OO RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

grace of God, shall we say that he conferred en man ", a divine 
right " to govern his species in its spiritual and civil concerns ? To 
found kingdoms and empires, and to invent religions as a means of 
imparting durability to their thrones? What God permits and reo-u- 
lates is one thing ; and what he appoints is another. He permits 
thrones and dominions, principalities and powers, to exist ; he regu- 
lates them, setting over them the basest of men, 1 if such answer his 
intentions best ; prevents them circumventing his purposes ; and 
commands his saints to (i be subject unto the higher powers. For 
there is no power but it is under God (Wo Geov marginal reading :) 
the powers that be are set under God — v-n-o tov Qeov TSTaynevai elaip' 
Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the regulation of 
God — tov Oeov SiaTayri : and they that resist shall receive to themselves 
punishment. For the magistrates are not a terror to good deeds, but 
to the evil. * * * Do that which is good, and thou shalt have 
praise of the same : for he is a servant of God unto that which is 
good for thee.'' 2 

God did not commission man to set up these powers. All he 
required of him was to obey whatsoever he chose to appoint. But, 
when man became a rebel, his rebellious spirit was transmitted to his 
posterity ; and, refusing to be governed by the grace of God, they 
founded dominions of their own, upon principles which were utterly 
subversive of the government of God upon the earth. He could as 
easily have quashed their treasonable proceedings as he stopped the 
building of Babel ; but in his wisdom he chose rather to give them 
scope, and to subject their usurpations to such regulations as would in 
the end, promote his own glory and their confusion. Therefore it is 
that Paul says, u every power is under God ; and the powers that be 
are placed under him." This is matter of great consolation and 
rejoicing to his saints ; for, though the tyrants may propose, it is 
God only that disposes events. The saints who understand the word 
will keep aloof from politics. None are more interested in them 
than they ; but they will mix themselves up neither with one party 
nor another ; for God regulates them all : therefore to be found in 
any such strife, would be to contend in some way or other against 
him. The servant of the Lord must not strive, except " for the faith 
once delivered to the saints." For this he is commanded to " contend 
earnestly ;" 3 because such a contention is to " fight the good fight 
of faith," and to " lay hold on eternal life." 

In the beginning, then, God reserved to himself the light of 
dominion over the human race. He gave it not to Adam, nor to his 
posterity ; but claimed the undivided sovereignty over all man's con- 
cerns for himself by light of creation ; and for him whom he might 
ordain as his representative upon earth. All the kingdoms that have, 
or do exist, with the exception of the Commonwealth of Israel, are 
based upon the usurpation of the rights of God, and of his son Jesus 
Christ; nor is there a king or queen, pope or emperor, among the 
Gentiles, who reigns " by the grace of God." They reign by the 
same grace, or favor, by which sin reigns over the nations. They 

» Dan. iv. 17. 2 Rom. xiii. 1—5. 3 Jude 8, 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. (ft? 

have no favor in the eyes of God. He bears with them for a time ; 
and makes use of them as his sword to maintain order among the 
lawless ; until his gracious purposes in favor of his saints shall be 
manifested, according to the arrangement of the times he has disposed. 
Then " will his saints be joyful in glory ; and the high praises of God 
be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand : to execute 
vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people ; to bind 
their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron ; to 
execute upon them the judgment written : this honor have all his 
saints. Praise ye the Lord." 1 



TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL. 

" Out of the ground made the Lord God to grow the Tree of Life in the midst of the garden, and 
the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil." 

These are the most remarkable trees that have ever appeared in the 
vegetable kingdom. They were " pleasant to the sight, and good for 
food." This, however, is all that is said about their nature and 
appearance. They would seem to have been the only trees of their 
kind ; for, if they had been common, Eve's desire to taste the fruit of 
the Tree of Knowledge, and their inclination to eat of that of the 
Tree of Life, could have been gratified by eating of other similar 
trees. What the fruits were we cannot tell ; nor is it important to 
know. Supposition says, that the Tree of Knowledge was an apple 
tree ; but testimony makes no deposition on the subject; therefore we 
can believe nothing in the case. 

These trees, however, are interesting to us, not on account of their 
natural characteristics, but because of the interdict which rested upon 
them. Adam and Eve were permitted to take freely of all the other 
trees in the garden, " but of the Tree of Knowledge of good and 
evil," said the Lord God, u thou shalt not eat of it, neither shall ye 
touch it : for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely 
die." 2 Naturally, it was as good for food as any other tree ; but, as 
soon as the Lord God laid his interdict upon it, its fruit became death 
to the eater ; not instant death, however, for their eves were to be 
opened, 3 and they were to become as the gods, or Elohim, being 
acquainted with good and evil even as they. 4 The final consequence 
of eating of this tree being death, it may be styled the Tree of Death 
in contradistinction to the Tree of Life. Decay of body, and conse- 
quent termination of life, ending in corruption, or mortality, was the 
attiTmite which this fatal tree was prepared to bestow upon the indi- 
vidual who should presume to touch it. 

In the sentence " thou shalt surely die" death is mentioned in the 
Bible for the first time. But, Adam lived several centuries after he 
liad eaten of the tree, which has proved a difficulty in the definition of 
the death there indicated, hitherto insuperable upon the principles of 
the creeds. Creed theology paraphrases the sentence thus— " in the 
day thou eatest thereof thou shalt die figuratively, thine immortal soul 
becoming liable to the pains of hell for ever ; and thy body shall die 

1 Psalm cxlix, 5—0. 2 Gen. ii. 17; iii. 8. 3 Gen. iii. 5, 7. * Gen. iii. 5, 22. 



60 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

literally afterwards." But, it is very evident to one unspoiled by the 
philosophy of the creeds, that this interpretation is not contained il 
the text. The obscurity which creates the difficulty, does not lie in 
the words spoken, but in the English version of them. The phrase 
"in the day" is supposed to mean that on the very day itself upon 
which Adam transgressed, he was to die in some sense. But this is 
not the use of the phrase even in the English of the same chapter. 
For in the fourth verse of the second chapter, it is written, "in the 
day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, and every 
plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the 
field before it grew/' This, we know, w r as the work of six days ; 
so that " in the day " is expressive of that period. But in the text 
before us, the same phrase represents a much longer period, for Adam 
did not die until he was 930 years old ; therefore, the day in which he 
died did not terminate till then. 

But, it may be objected, that the day in the text must be limited to 
the day of the eating ; because it says, " in the day that thou eatest 
thereof thou shalt surely die :" and as he was not eating of it 930 
years, but only partook of it once on a certain natural day, it cannot 
mean that long period. But, I am not prepared to admit, that the 
physical action of eating is the only eating indicated in the text. 
Adam fed upon the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge all the time from 
his eating of the natural fruit until he died. The natural fruit in its 
effect was figurative of the fruit of transgressing the interdict, which 
said, " thou shalt not eat of it." The figurative fruit was of a mixed 
character. It w T as *' good/'' or pleasant to the flesh ; but " evil " in 
its consequences. " By the law" says the apostle, " is the knowledge 
of sin ;" for ** sin is the transgression of law." 1 Sin is pleasant to 
the flesh ; because the deeds forbidden are natural to it. It is that 
"good" fruit which the animal man delights to eat. The flesh, the 
eyes, and life, have all their desires, or lusts, which, when gratified, 
constitute the chiefest good that men under their dominion seek after. 
But, God has forbidden indulgence in these lusts. He says, " love 
not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man 
love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is 
in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride 
of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." 2 And again, " the 
friendship of the world is enmity with God. Whosoever therefore 
will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God :" 3 and, " if ye 
live after the flesh ye shall die." 4 This language is unmistakeable. 
To indulge then in the lawless pleasures, which " sinful flesh " terms 
" good," is lo " bring forth sin" 5 or to bear fruit unto death ; be- 
cause 'the wages of sin is death.' 6 "Whatsoever a man so«^//{, 
lhat shall he also reap. For he that soweth to the flesh, shall of the 
flesh reap corruption. "7 All " the ills that flesh is heir to" make 
up the " evil," which has come upon man as the result of transgress- 
ing the law of God, which said to Adam, "thou shalt not eat thereof." 
The fruit of his eating was the gratification of his flesh in the lusts 

» Rom. Hi. 20 ; John il\. 4. * John ii. 15, 10. 3 James iv. 4. « Rom. viii. 13. 5 James i. 15. 
« Rom. vi. -21—23. » Gal. vi. 7, 8. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 61 

thereof, and the subjection of himself and posterity to the "evil" o^ 
eating of the cursed ground in sorrow all the days of their lives. 1 

All the posterity of Adam, when they attain the age of puberty 
and their eyes are in the opening crisis, begin to eat of the Tree ol 
the Knowledge of good and evil. Previous to that natural change, 
they are in their innocency. But, thenceforth, the world, as a serpent- 
entwined fruit tree, stands before the mind, enticing it to take an6 
eat, and enjoy the good things it affords. To speculate upon the law 
fulness of compliance is partly to give consent. There must be no 
reasoning upon the harmlessness of conforming to the world. Its 
enticements without, and the sympathizing instincts of the flesh 
within, must be instantly suppressed ; for, to hold a parley with its 
lusts, is dangerous. When one is seduced by "the deceitfulness of 
sin/' "he is drawn away of his own lusts, and enticed. Then when 
lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin ; and sin when it is finished, 
bringeth forth death :" 2 in other words, he plucks the forbidden fruit, 
and dies, if not forgiven. 

Furthermore, the sentence " thou shalt surely die" is proof that 
the phrase " in the day -• relates to a longer period than the day of 
the natural eating. This was not a sentence to be consummated in a 
moment, as when a man is shot or guillotined. It required time ; 
for the death threatened was the result, or finishing, of a certain pro- 
cess ; which is very clearly indicated in the original Hebrew. In 
this language the phrase is muth temuth, which literally rendered is, 
dying thou shalt die. The sentence, then, as a whole reads 
thus — a In the day of thy eating from it dying thou shalt die." 
From this reading, it is evident, that Adam was to be subjected to a 
process, but not to an endless process ; but to one which should com- 
mence with the transgression, and end with his extinction. The pro- 
cess is expressed by muth, dying ; and the last stage of the process 
by temuth, thou shalt die. 

This view is fully sustained by the paraphrase found in the follow- 
ing words : — u Cursed is the ground for thy sake ; in sorrow shalt 
thou eat of it all the days of thy life. In the sweat of thy face shalt 
thou eat bread till thou return into the ground; for out of it wast 
thou taken ; for dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return." 3 
The context of this informs us, that Adam having transgressed, had 
been summoned to trial and judgment for the offence. The Lord 
God interrogated him, saying, " hast thou eaten of the tree of which 
I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?" Adam confessed 
his guilt, which was sufficiently manifest before by his timidity, anl 
shame at his nakedness. The offence being proved, the Judge then 
proceeded to pass sentence upon the transgressors. This he did in 
the order of transgression ; first upon the Serpent ; then upon Eve : 
and lastly upon Adam, in the words of the text. In these, the ground 
is cursed, and the man sentenced to a life of sorrowful labor, and to a 
resolution into his original and parent dust. The terms in which the 
last particular of his sentence is expressed, are explanatory of the 
penalty annexed to the law. M Thou shalt return into the ground," 

! Gen. iii. 17—19. » James i. 14, 15. 3 Gen. iii. 18. 



62 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

and, a unto dust shalt thou return," are phrases equivalent to " dying 
thou shalt die." Hence, the divine interpretation of the sentence, li if 
the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die," is, " in the day o; 
thy eating all the days of thy life of sorrow, returning thou shalt 
return into the dust of the ground whence thou wast taken." Thus, 
" dying" in the meaning of the text, is to be the subject of a sorrow- 
ful, painful, and laborious existence, which wears a man out, and 
brings him down to the brink of the grave ; and, by '* die," is signi- 
fied, the end, or last stage, of corporeal existence, which is marked 
by a ceasing to breathe, and decomposition into dust. Thus, man's 
life from the womb to the grave is a dying existence ; and, so long as 
he retains his form, as in the case of Jesus in the sepulchre, he is 
existent in death ; for what is termed being, is corporeal existence in 
life and death. The end of our being is the end of that process by 
which we are resolved into dust — we cease to be. This was Adam's 
state, if we may so speak, before he was created. He had no being. 
And at this non-existence he arrived after a lapse of 930 years from 
his formation ; and thus were practically illustrated the penalty of 
the law, and the sentence of the Judge. For from the day of his 
transgression, he began his pilgrimage to the grave, at which be 
surely arrived. He made his couch in the dust, and saw corruption ; 
and with its mother earth commingled all that was known as Adam, 
the federal head, and chief father of mankind. 

TREE OF LIFE. 
" Eat and live for ever." 

This was planted " in the midst of the garden." It wag also a 
fruit-bearing tree. It would seem to have been as accessible as the 
Tree of Knowledge ; for after the man had eaten of this, he was 
driven out of the garden that he might not touch that likewise. Its 
fruit, however, was of a quality entirely opposite to that of which 
they had eaten. Both trees bore good fruit ; but that of the Tree of 
Life had the quality of perpetuating the living existence of the eater 
for ever. This appears from the testimony of Moses, who reports, 
that after the transgressors had received judgment, " the Lord God 
said, Behold the man has become as one of us, to know good and 
evil : and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the Tree 
of Life, and eat and live for ever : therefore the Lord God sent him 
forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground whence he was 
taken." 1 From this, we learn, that the Lord God had instituted this 
tree to give life, and that Adam was aware of what would result from 
eating of its fruit. It is probable that, had he been obedient to the 
law of the Tree of Knowledge, he would have been permitted to eat 
of the Tree of Life, after he had fulfilled his destiny as an animal 
man ; and, instead of dying away into dust, have-been "changed in 
the twinkling of an eye," as Enoch was ; and as they are to be, who 
shall be ready for the Lord at his coming. But, of this we can say 
nothing certain, because nothing is testified on the subject; and 

' Gen. ill. 83, 23. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. G3 

beyond the testimony our faith cannot go, though opinion and 
credulity may. 

If, then, Adam had eaten of the Tree of Life, he would have been 
changed from a living soul into a soul capable of living for ever : 
and not only capable, but it would seem, that being immortal, the 
Lord God would have permitted him to remain so. For, we are not 
to suppose, that, if a thing become capable of undecaying existence, 
therefore its creator cannot destroy it ; consequently, if Adam as a 
sinner had eaten of the Tree of Life, his immortality would have 
been only permitted, and not necessitated contrary to the power of 
the Lord God. 

To have permitted Adam and Eve to become deathless and to 
remain so, in a state of good and evil such as the world experiences, 
would have been a disproportionate and unmerciful punishment. It 
would have been to populate the earth with deathless sinners ; and to 
convert it into the abode of deathless giants in crime ; in other words, 
ihe earth would have become, what creed theologists describe " hell " 
to be in their imagination. The good work of the sixth day would 
then have proved a terrible mishap, instead of the nucleus of a 
glorious manifestation of divine wisdom and power. But, a world of 
undying sinners in a state of good and evil, was not according to the 
divine plan. This required first the sanctification of sinners ; then 
their probation ; and afterwards, their exaltation, or humiliation, 
according to their works. Therefore, lest Adam should invert this 
order, and " put on immortality " before he should be morally re- 
newed, or purified from sin, and the moral likeness of God be formed 
in him again ; the Lord God expelled him from the dangerous vicinity 
of the Tree of Life. He drove him forth that he should not then 
become incorruptible and deathless. 

The first intimation of immortality for man is contained in the text 
before us. But, in this instance it eluded his grasp. He was expelled 
" lest he should eat, and live for ever." It was because immortality 
belonged to this tree ; or rather, was communicable by or through it 
to the eater, that it was styled otz ha-chayim y that is, the Tree of the 
Lives ; for that is its name when literally rendered. The phrase " of 
the lives " is particularly appropriate ; for it was the tree of endless 
life both to Adam and Eve, if permitted to eat of it. If the world 
enticing to sin, be fitly represented by the serpent-entwined tree, im- 
parting death to its victim, Christ, who " has overcome the world," 1 
as the giver of life to his people, is well set forth by the other tree in 
the midst of the garden ; which was a beautiful emblem of the incar- 
nated power and wisdom 2 of the Deity, planted as the Tree of Life 
in the future Paradise of God. 3 

MAN IN HIS NOVITIATE. 
" God made man upright." 

When the work of the six days was completed, the Lord God 
reviewed all that he had made, and pronounced it " very good." 

! John xvi. 38. 5 Prov. iii. 13, 18 ; 1 Cor. i. 24. 3 Rer. xxii. 2. 



64 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

This quality pertained to every thing terrestrial. The beasts of the 
Held, the fowls of the air, reptiles, and man, were all " very good ;" 
and all made up a natural system of things, or world, as perfect as 
the nature of things required. Its excellency, however, had relation 
solely to its physical quality. Man, though "very good," was so 
only as a piece of divine workmanship. He was made different from 
what he afterwards became. Being made in the image, after the like- 
ness of the Elohim, he was " made upright." He had no conscience 
of evil ; for he did not know what it was. He was neither virtuous, 
nor vicious ; holy, nor unholy ; but in his beginning simply innocent 
of good or evil deeds. Being without a history, he was without 
character. This had to be developed ; and could only be formed for 
good or evil, by his own independent action under the divine law. In 
short, when Adam and Eve came forth from the hand of their potter, 
they were morally in a similar condition to a new-born babe ; except- 
ing that a babe is born under the constitution of sin, and involuntarily 
subjected to u vanity ;' n while they first beheld the light in a state of 
things where evil had as yet no place. They were created in the 
stature of a perfect man and woman; but with their sexual feelings 
undeveloped ; in ignorance, and without experience. 

The interval between their formation and the transgression was the 
period of their novitiate. The Spirit of God had made them ; and 
during this time, " the inspiration of the Almighty was giving thern 
understanding. 2 In this way, knowledge was imparted to them. It 
became power, and enabled them to meet all the demands of their 
situation. Thus, they were " taught of God," and became the deposi- 
tories of those arts and sciences, in which they afterwards instructed 
their sons and daughters, to enable them to till the ground, tend the 
flocks and herds, provide the conveniences of life, and subdue the 
earth. 

Guided by the precepts of the Lord God, his conscience continued 
good, and his heart courageous. *' They were naked, both the man 
and his wife, and were not ashamed." 3 They were no more abashed 
than children in their nudity ; for, though adults in stature, yet, being 
in the infancy of nature, they stood before the Elohim and in the face 
of one another, without embarrassment. This fact was not accident- 
ally recorded. As we shall see hereafter, it is a clue, as it were, given 
to enable us to understand the nature of the transgression. 

While in the state of good unmixed with evil, were Adam and Eve 
mortal or immortal ? This is a question which presents itself to many 
who study the Mosaic account of the origin of things. It is an 
interesting question, and worthy of all attention. Some hastily 
reply, they were mortal ; that is, if they had not sinned they would 
nevertheless have died. It is probable they would after a long time, 
if no further change had been operated upon their nature. But 
the Tree of Life seems to have been provided, for the purpose of this 
change being effected, through the eating of its fruit, if they had 
proved themselves worthy of the favour. The animal nature will 
sooner or later dissolve. It was not constituted so as to contir ue in 

! Rom. viii. 20. * Job xxxiii. 4 ; xxxii. 8. » Gen. ii. 26. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD, 65 

life for ever, independent of any further modification. We may ad- 
mit, therefore, the corruptibility, and consequent mortality, of their 
nature, without saying that they were mortal. The inherent tendency 
of their nature to death would have been arrested ; and they would 
have been changed as Enoch and Elijah were ; and as they of whom 
Paul says, " we shall not all die." The u we " here indicated possess 
an animal, arid therefore corruptible nature; and, if not "changed," 
would surely die : but inasmuch as they are to " be changed in the 
twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet,' 1 though corruptible, they are 
not mortal. In this sense, therefore, I say, that in their novitiate, 
Adam and his betrothed had a nature capable of corruption, but were 
not subject to death, or mortal. The penalty was " dying thou shalt 
die;'' that is, " you shall not be permitted to eat of the Tree of Life 
in arrest of dissolution ; but the inherent tendency of your animal 
nature shall take its course, and return you to the dust whence you 
originally came." Mortality was in disobedience as the wages of sin, 
and not a necessity. 

But, if they were not mortal in their novitiate, it is also true that 
they were not immortal. To say that immortals were expelled from 
the garden of Eden, that they might not live for ever by eatino- of 
the tree, is absurd. The truth is in few words, man was created with 
a nature endued with certain susceptibilities. He was capable of death; 
and capable of endless life ; but, whether he should merge into mor- 
tality ; or, by a physical change be clothed with immortality, was 
predicated on his choosing to do good or evil. Capacity must not be 
confounded with impletion. A vessel may be capable of holding a 
pint of fluid ; but it does not therefore follow that there is a pint in 
it, or any at all. In the Paradise of Eden, mortality and immor- 
tality were set before the man and his companion. They were external 
to them. They were to avoid the former, and seek after the latter 
by obedience to the law of God. They were capable of beino- filled 
with either; but with which depended upon their actions : for "immor- 
tality is the end of holiness, 1 without which no man can see the 
Lord. 

We meet with no traces in the Mosaic history of ceremonial 
observances, or religious worship, pertaining to the novitiate. To 
rest one day in seven ; believe that the Lord God would perform his 
word if they transgressed; and to abstain from touching the Tree of 
Knowledge, was all their gracious benefactor required. There was 
no "religion" in the garden of Eden — no sacrifices, or offerings ; 
for sin was as yet a stranger there. Their tenure of the Paradise 
was predicated upon their abstinence from sin : so that it could be 
forfeited only by transgression of the law of the Lord. 



i Rora. vi 22. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 



CHAPTER III. 



.Probation before exaltation, the law of the moral universe of God.— The temptation 
of tho Lord Jesus by Satan the trial of his faith by the Father. — The Temptation 
explained. — God's foreknowledge does not necessitate; nor does he justify, or 
condemn, by anticipation. — The Serpent an intellectual animal, but not a moral 
agent, nor inspired — He deceives the woman. — The nature of the transgression. — 
Eve becomes the tempter to Adam. — The transgression consummated in the con- 
ception of Cain. — A good conscience, and an evil conscience, defined, — Miin 
cannot cover his own sin. — The carnal mind illustrated by the reasoning of the 
Serpent. — It is metaphorically the Serpent in the flesh.— God's truth the only rule 
of right and wrong. — The Serpent in the flesh is manifested in the wickedness of 
individuals ; and in the spiritual and temporal institutions of the world. — Serpent- 
sin in the flesh identified with " the Wicked One."— The Prince of the World.— 
The Kingdom of Satan and the World identical.— The Wiles of the Devil.— The 
" Prince, " shown to be sin, working and reigning in all sinners. — How he was 
11 cast out " by Jesus.—" The works of the Devil." — " Bound of Satan •" delivei*- 
ing to Satan.— The Great Dragon— the Devil and Satan. — The Man of Sin. 



Man in the first estate is " a little lower than the angels j" but, in the 
second, or higher, estate, he is to be " crowned with glory and honor ;" 
and to take his stand in the universe upon an equality with them in 
nature and renown. Man's first estate is the natural and animal ; 
his second, the spiritual, or incorruptible. To be exalted from the 
present to the future state and inheritance, he must be subjected to 
trial. From the examples recorded in the scriptures, it is evident, 
that God has established it as the rule of his grace ; that is, the prin- 
ciple upon which he bestows his honors and rewards — to prove men 
before he exalts them* Probation, then, is the indispensable ordeal, 
to which every man is subjected in the providence of God, before he 
is accepted as u fit for the Master's use." 1 By these examples, also, 
it appears, that man's probation is made to bear upon the trial of his 
faith by testing his obedience. An untried faith is worth nothing ; 
but a faith that stands the test of trial, " is much more precious than 
gold which perisheth, though it be tried with fire ;" because the sus- 
tained trial will be " found unto praise, and honor, and glory, at the 
appearance of Jesus Christ.'' 2 

An untried faith is a dead faith, being alone. Faith without trial 
finds no scope for demonstration, or evidence of its existence. Thus, 
it is written, * faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 
'Yea,' a man may say, ' thou hast faith, and I have works :' show me 
thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my 
ivorhs. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well ; the 
devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, 
that faith without works is dead ? Was not Abraham our father 
justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar ? 
Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith 
made perfect. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and 

1 2 Tim. iL 20, 21. » 1 Pet i. 5—7. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. G7 

not by faith alone." 1 " Without faith/' says Paul, " it is impossi- 
ble to please God ;" and it is also apparent from James' testimony- 
just recited, that the faith with which he is pleased, is a faith that is 
made manifest by works ; of which Noah, Abraham, Job, and Jesus, 
are pre-eminent examples. 

Now, this " precious faith " can only be educed by trial ; for the 
trial elaborates the works. This is the use of persecution, or tribula- 
tion, to believers ; which in the divine economy is appointed for their 
refinement. Peter siyles the " manifold persecutions," to which his 
brethren were subjected, "the trial of their faith;" and Paul testified 
to others of them, that "it is through much tribulation they must enter 
the kingdom." Probation is a refining process. It purges out a man's 
dross, and brings out the image of Christ in his character; and 
prepares him for exaltation to his throne. 2 We can only enter the 
kingdom through the fire ; 3 but, if a man be courageous, and " hold 
fast the confidence and rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end," he 
will emerge from it unscorched ; and be presented holy, unblameable, 
and unrebukeable 4 before the king. 

A man cannot '• honor God" 1 ' more than in believing what he pro- 
mises, and in doing what he commands ; although to repudiate that 
belief, and to neglect, or disobey, those commands, should highly 
gratify all his senses, and place at his disposal the kingdoms of the 
world, and all their glory. Not to believe the promises of God is in 
effect to call God a liar ; and no offence, even to men of integrity in 
the world, is so insulting and intolerable as this. " Let God be true," 
saith the scripture. His veracity must not be impeached in word or 
deed ; if it be, then "judgment without mercy " is the " sorer punish- 
ment" which awaits the calumniator. The unswerving obedience of 
faith, is the " faith made perfect by works," tried by fire. God is 
pleased with this faith, because it honors him. It is a working faith. 
There is life in it; and its exercise proves that the believer loves him. 
Such a man it is God's delight to honor; and, though like Jesus he, 
be for the present, " despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows 
and acquainted with grief," the time will certainly come, when God 
will acknowledge him in the presence of the Elohim, and overwhelm 
his enemies with confusion of face. 

Probation before exaltation, then, is upon the principle of a faith 
in the promises of God y made precious by trial well sustained. There 
is no exemption from this ordeal. Even Christ himself was subjected 
to it " By the grace of God he tasted death for every man. For it 
was fitting for God, that * * * in bringing many sons to glory, 
he should make the Captain of their salvation perfect through suffer- 
ings. For in that he himself hath suffered being put to the proof 
(TTEipaadais), he is able to succour them who are tried." 5 And " though 
he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he 
suffered: and being made perfect, he became the author of eternal 
salvation unto all them thai obey him"$ He was first morally per- 
fected through suffering; and tnen corporeally, by being " made into 
a spirit " by the spirit of holiness in his resurrection from the dead. 

I James ii. 17—24 2 Rev. ffl. 21. » . Cor. ii. 13. « Col, i. 22, 23. « jf eb. ii. 9—18. * Heb. v.8, 9 

E 2 



OS RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

I say, " morally perfected ;" for, although he was without transgres- 
sion, his perfection of character is predicated upon his "obedience unto 
death. " 

The probation of the Lord Jesus is an interesting and important 
study, especially that part of it styled, the Temptation of Satan. 
Paul, speaking of him as the High Priest under the New Constitution, 
says, ' he was put to the proof in all things according to our likeness, 
without transgression;"" 1 that is, "having taken hold of the seed of 
Abraham," " being found in fashion as a man," the infirmities of 
human nature were thus laid upon him. He could sympathize with 
them experimentally ; being, by the feelings excited within him when 
enticed, well acquainted with all its weak points. By examining the 
narrative of his trial in the wilderness, we shall find that he was 
proved in all the assailable points of human nature. As soon as he 
was filled with the Spirit 2 at his baptism in the Jordan, it immediately 
drove him 3 into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 4 This 
was very remarkable. The spirit led him there that he might be put 
to the proof; but not to tempt him ; for, says the apostle, " let no 
man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God : for God cannot 
be tempted with evils, neither tempteth he any man" 5 God, then, 
did not tempt Jesus ; though his Spirit conducted him thither to be 
tempted, and that, too, "by the devil/' or the enemy. This enemy 
within the human nature is the mind of the flesh, which is enmity 
against God ; it is not subject to his law, neither indeed can be. 6 The 
commandment of God, which is " holy, just and good," being so re- 
strictive of the propensities, which in purely animal men display 
themselves with uncontrolled violence, makes them appear in their 
true colors. These turbulent propensities the apostle styles " sin in 
the flesh," of which it is full ; hence, he also terms it " sinful flesh/' 
This is human nature ; and the evil in it, made so apparent by the 
law of God, he personifies as " pre-eminently A sinner," ku6 virsppoX-ni, 
afxapTtoXosJ This is the accuser, adversary, and calumniator of God, 
whose strong hold is the flesh. It is the devil and satan within the 
human nature; so that "when a man is tempted, he is drawn away 
of his own lust, and enticed." If a man examine himself, he will 
perceive within him something at work, craving after things which 
the law of God forbids. The best of men are conscious of this enemy 
within them. It troubled the apostle so much, that he exclaimed, 
" O, wretched man that I am ! who shall deliver me from the body 
of this death," 8 or this mortal body ? He thanked God that the 
Lord Jesus Christ would do it ; that is, as he had himself been 
delivered from it, by God raising him from the dead by his Spirit.9 

Human nature, or " sinful flesh," has three principal channels 
through which it displays its waywardness against the law of God. 
These are expressed by " the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, 
and the pride of life." All that is m the world stands related to 
these points of our nature ; and there is no temptation that can be 
devised, but what assails it in one, or more, of these three particulars. 

Heb.iv. IS. 2Lukeir. I. 3 Mark i. 12. * Matt. iv. 1. & James i. 13. e i>»rn. viii. 7. » Rom. 
vU. 12, 13, 17, 18. » verse 24. 9 Rom. viii. 11. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. by 

The world without is the seducer, which finds in all animal men, un- 
subdued by the law and testimony of God, a sympathizing and 
friendly principle, ready at all times to eat of its forbidden fruit. 
This sinful nature we inherit. It is our misfortune, not our crime, 
that we possess it. We are only blameworthy when, being supplied 
with the power of subduing it, we permit it to reign over us. This 
power resides in " the testimony of God " believed ; so that we " are 
kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation." 1 This 
testimony ought to dwell in us as it dwelt in the Lord Jesus ; so that, 
as with the shield of faith, the fiery assaults of the world may be 
quenched 2 by a " thus it is written," and a H thus saith the Lord." 

Jesus was prepared by the exhaustion of a long fast, for an appeal 
to the desire of his flesh for food. Hunger, it is said, will break 
through stone walls. " He was hungry." At this crisis, " the 
Tempter came to him." Who he was does not appear. Perhaps, 
Paul refers to him, saying, " Satan himself is transformed into an 
angel of light.'" 3 Some one came to him who was his adversary, 
and who desired his ruin ; or, at least, acted the part of one on the 
same principle that the adversary was permitted to put the fidelity of 
Job to the proof. The trial of this eminent son of God, was per- 
haps recorded as an illustration of the temptation of the Son of God, 
even Jesus, to whom " there was none like in the earth, a perfect and 
upright man, one that feared God, and eschewed evil." 4 From his 
birth to his baptism in the Jordan, he was faultless. But, in the words 
of Satan concerning Job, " did Jesus fear God for nought ? Had 
not God made a hedge about him?" Yes; God was his defence: 
and " in keeping his testimony there is great reward." But, the 
adversary calumniated Jesus, in suggesting that his obedience to God 
had been prompted by mercenary motives. He " feared," 5 not simply 
for what he should get, but because of his love for his Father's 
character as revealed in the divine testimonies. The adversary 
affected to disbelieve this; and to suppose that, if God would just 
leave him in the position of any other man, he would distrust him ; 
and eat of the world's forbidden fruit, by embracing ail it would afford 
him. Thus, the adversary may be supposed to have moved the Lord 
to permit him to put the fidelity of Jesus to the test. God, therefore, 
allowed the experiment to be tried ; and by his spirit sent him into the 
wilderness for the purpose. So the adversary went forth from the 
presence of the Lord, and came to him there. 

Having arrived at the crisis when Jesus was suffering from the 
keenest hunger, the adversary assumed the character of an angel, or , 
messenger of light to him Being acquainted with " the law and the 
testimony," for which he knew Jesus had a profound regard, he 
adduced it in support of his suggestions. He invited him to gratify 
the cravings of the flesh by helping himself. He was God's son ; 
•but then his Father seemed to have abandoned him ; why not there- 
fore use the power he possessed, whose presence in hirn was of itself 
a proof of God's approval of its exercise, and " command that the 
stones be made bread?" But Jesus disregarded the reasoning : and 

\ 1 Pet. i. 5. 2 Ephes. vi. 16. 3 2 Cor. xi. U * Job i. 8. 5 Heb. v. 7. 



70 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

set it aside by " it is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but 
by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." 1 

Failing in this, the scene of the temptation was then removed to 
w the pinnacle of the temple j" and, as Jesus fortified himself by the 
word, the adversary determined to be even with him ; and in appeal- 
ing to the pride of life, so strong in the nature laid upon him, to 
strengthen himself with the testimony likewise. u If thou be the 
Son of God, as thou proudly assumest to be, cast thyself down : for 
it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee : and 
they shall bear thee up in their hands, lest at any time thou dash thy 
foot against a stone/' 2 But Jesus met him with " Again, it is 
written, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.'' 3 

Lastly, the scene was shifted to a lofty mountain. From this posi- 
tion, by the power granted him, he showed Jesus " all the kingdoms 
of the world," visible from that elevation ; " and the glory of them." 
He knew that Jesus was destined to possess them all ; but that he 
was also to obtain them through suffering. Jesus knew this, too. 
Now, as the flesh dislikes suffering, the tempter proposed to gratify 
the desi?'e of his eyes by giving him all he saw on the easy condition 
of doing homage to him as the god of the world. " All this power, 
said he, will I give ihee, and the glory of them ; for that is delivered 
to me ; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt 
worship me, all shall be thine." 4 But Jesus'resisted the enticement ; 
and said, " Get thee hence adversary : for it is written, Thou shalt 
worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." '.' Hav- 
ing ended all the temptation he departed from him for a season." 
" And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee." In 
this manner, then, was he put to the proof in all things according to 
the likeness of his nature to ours, but without transgression. He 
believed not this angel of light 5 and power, and would have none of 
his favors. He preferred the grace of God with suffering, to the 
gratification of his flesh with all the pomp and pageantry of this 
vain and transitory world. Its " glory " is indeed delivered to the 
adversary of God, his people, and his truth ; and to whomsoever he 
wills he gives it. The knowledge of this truth ought to deter every 
righteous man from seeking after it ; or even accepting it, when 
offered upon conditions derogatory to the truth of God. And, if 
those who possess it, such as kings, priests, nobles, &c, were what 
they pretend to be, they would follow Jesus, and Paul's examples, 
and renounce them all. Christianity in high places, is Christ falling 
down before the adversary ; and doing homage to him for the honor, 
riches, and power of the world. What fellowship hath Christ with 
Belial ? Certainly none. 

If the principles upon which the temptation of the Lord Jesus was 
permitted, be understood, the necessity of putting the first Adam to 
the proof will be readily perceived. Would he retain his integrity, 
if placed in a situation of trial ? Or, would he disbelieve God and 
die? The Lord God well knew what the result would be; and had 
made all necessary provision for the altered circumstances, which he 

» Deut. viii. S. » Psalm xci. 11, 12. s Deut. vi. 16. < Luke iv. 6, 7. * Gal. i. 8. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 71 

foresaw would arise. His knowledge, however, of what would be, 
did not necessitate it. He had placed all things in a provisional 
state If the man maintained his integrity, there was the Tree of 
Lives as the germ of a superior order of things ; but, if he trans- 
gressed, then the natural and animal system would continue un- 
changed ; and the spii itualization of the earth and its population, be 
deferred to a future period. 

God's knowledge of what a man's character will be, does not cause 
him to exempt him from trial. He rewards and punishes none upon 
foregone conclusions. He does not say to this man, " I know you 
are certain to turn out a reprobate, therefore I will punish you for 
what you would do ;" nor does he say to another, " I know thee that 
thou wouldst do well all the days of thy life ; therefore, I will pro- 
mote thee to glory and honor, without subjecting thee to the tribula- 
tion of the world." His principle is to recompense men according to 
what they have do)ie, not for what they would do. Thus he dealt 
with J he Two Adams; and with Israel: to whom Moses says, " the 
Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness to humble 
thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thy heart, whether thou 
wouldest keep his commandments, or no." 1 And thus also the Lord 
Jesus treated Judas. He knew he was a thief, and would betray 
him ; yet he trusted him with the bag, and made no difference 
between him and the rest, until his character was revealed. The 
Lord knew what was in the heart of Israel, and whether they would 
obey him ; but he subjected them to such a trial as would cause them 
to reveal themselves in their true character, and thereby justify hint 
in his conduct towards them. With these remarks, then, by way of 
preface, I shall now proceed to the further exposition of things con- 
nected with this subject in the Mosaic account. And first of 

THE SERPENT. 

f ■ It was more subtle than any beast of the field." 

The Serpent was one of " the living things that moved upon 
earth/' and which the Lord God pronounced " very good." M 
says, it was more subtle, or shrewd, than any of the creatures 
Lord God had made. It was, probably, because of this qualit 
shrewdness, or quickness of perception, that Adam named it nacha 
which is rendered by Bpaxwv in the New Testament, from fop™ to se 
as, SpaKovra tov o<piv rov apx«toi/, the Dragon, the old serpent. 2 It wa 
doubtless, the chief of the serpent tribe, as it is styled " the" serpent; 
and, seeing that it was afterwards condemned to go upon its belly as 
a part of its sentence, it is probable, it was a winged-serpent in the 
beo-innino- ; fiery, but afterwards deprived of the power of flight, and 
made to move as at present. 

Its subtlety, or quickness of perception by eye and ear, and skilful- 
ness in the use of them (Travovpyia) 3 was a part of the goodness of its 
nature. It was not an evil quality by any means ; for Jesus exhorts 
hb disciples to "be wise as the serpents; and unsophisticated 

' Deut. viii. 2. 3 Rev. xx. 2. 



72 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

(oKfpatot) as the doves." This quality of shrewdness, or instinctive 
wisdom, is that which principally strikes us in all that is said about 
it. It was an observant spectator of what was passing around it in 
the garden, since the Lord God had planted it eastward in Eden. It 
had seen the Lord God and his companion Elohim. He had heard 
their discourse. He was acquainted with the existence of the Tree of 
Knowledge, and the Tree of Lives ; and knew that the Lord God 
had forbidden Adam and his wife to eat of the good and evil fruit ; 
or so much as to touch the tree. He was aware from what he had 
heard, that the Elohim knew what good and evil was experimentally ; 
and that in this particular, Adam and Eve were not so wise as they. 
But, all this knowledge was shut up in his own cranium, from which 
it could never have made its exit, had not the Lord God bestowed 
upon it the power of expressing its thoughts in speech. 

And what use should we naturally expect such a creature would 
make of this faculty ? Such an one, certainly, as its cerebral consti- 
tution would enable it to manifest. It was an intellectual, but not a 
moral, creature. It had no "moral sentiments. " No part of its 
brain was appropriated to the exercise of benevolence, veneration, 
conscientiousness, and so forth. To speak phrenologically, it was 
destitute of these organs ; having only " intellectual faculties " and 
u propensities." Hence, its cerebral mechanism, under the excitation 
of external phenomena, would only develope, what I would term, an 
animal intellectuality. Moral, or spiritual, ideas would make no 
impression upon its mental constitution; for it was incapable from its 
formation of responding to them. It would be physically impossible 
for it to reason in harmony with the mind of God ; or with the mind 
of a man, whose reasoning was regulated by divinely enlightened 
moral sentiments. Its wisdom would be that of the untutored savage 
race, whose "sentiments" by the desuetude of ages, had become as 
nothing. In short, we should expect that, if the faculty of speech 
were bestowed upon it, it would make just such a use of it, as Moses 
narrates of the serpent in the garden or Eden. Its mind was purely 
and emphatically a " Carnal Mind," of a more shrewd description 
than that of any of the inferior creaures. It was u very good ;" but, 
when he undertook to converse upon things too high for him ; to 
speak of what he had seen and heard ; and to comment upon the law 
of the Lord, he lost himself in his dialogisms, and became the 
inventor of a lie. 

Thus prepared, he commenced a conversation with the woman. 
li Yea," said he, as though he were familiar with the saying, " hath 
God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden ?" In this 
manner he spoke, as if he had been pondering over the matter to 
find out the meaning of things ; but, not being able to make any- 
thing of it, he invited her attention inquiringly. She replied, " we 
may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden : but of the fruit of 
the tree in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat 
of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die." This was enunciating 
" the law of the spirit of life," or the truth ; for " the law of God is 
the truth." 1 Had she adhered to the letter of this, she would have 

- Psalm cxix. 142. 



L.UDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 73 

been safe. But, the Serpent began to intellectualize ; and in so doing-, 
"abode not in the truth ; because there was no truth in him. When 
he may be speaking the falsehood (orav \a\9j to ^ufoy) he speaks out 
of his own ' n reasonings (e/c tm iSuov XaXlt). He could not compre- 
hend the moral obligation necessitating obedience to the divine law ; 
for there was nothing in him that responded to it. Hence, says 
Jesus, "there was no truth in him." This, however, was not the 
case with Eve. There was truth in her ; .but she also began to intel- 
lectualize at the suggestion of the Serpent ; and from his reasonings 
to doubt, and finally to conclude, that the Lord God did not wean 
exactly what he said. This was an error of which all the world is 
guilty to this day. It admits that God has spoken; that he has 
promulgated laws; that he has made promises ; and that he has said, 
" he that believeth the gospel, and is baptized, shall be saved ; but 
he that believeth not shall be condemned." All this professors admit 
in theory ; while, as in the case of Eve, in practice they deny it. 
They say he is too kind, too loving, too merciful, to act accord ng to 
a rigid construction of the word; for if he did, multitudes of the 
good and pious, and excellent of the earth, would be condemned. 
This is doubtless true. Sceptics, however, of this class should 
remember, that they only are " the salt of the earth,'' who delight in 
the law of the Lord, and do it. Every sect has ir* -good and 
pious" ones, who are thought little or nothing of by adverse denomi- 
nations. The law of God is the only true standard fit <*oo 'w ■- and 
piety; and men may depend upon it, attested by the examples in 
scripture, that they who treat him as not meaning exaeffy w ,iat he 
says in his word, " make God a liar," 2 and are amytliing but good or 
pious in his esteem. 

Eve having repeated the law in the hearing of t lie Se-p m, he 
remarked that they should not surely d$r : "for," said he, " Goo! doth 
know, that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes sh ill be opened, 
and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." The fa, s; hood of 
this assertion consisted in the declaration, " Ye shall nor surely die/* 
when God had said, "dying ye shall die." It was nuth that God 
did know that in the day of their eating their eyes would, h<< ojnoibd; 
and it was also true, that they should then become us the iilohim, 
in the sense of knowing good and eril. This appears from the testi- 
mony of Moses, that when they had eaten " the eye- <>t them both 
were opened ;' 3 and from the admission of God him -elf, who said, 
" Behold, the man is become like one of us, to know good and evil."* 
The Serpent's declaration was therefore an admixture of truth and 
falsehood ; which so blended itself with what Eve knew to exist, 
that " she was beguiled by his shrewdness " from the simplicity of 
the law of God. 

But, how did the Serpent know, that the Lord God knew that 
these things would happen to them in the day of their eating ? How 
came he to know anything about the gods, and their acquaintance 
with good and evil ? And upon what grounds did he affirm they 
should not surely die? The answer is, by one of two ways — by 

• John viii. 41. ** 1 John v. 10. 3 Gen. iii. 7. * Gen. iii. 22. 



74 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

inspiration; or, by observation. If we say by inspiration, then we 
make God the author of the lie ; but if we affirm, that he obtained 
his knowledge by observation — by the use of his eyes and ears upon 
things transpiring around him — then we confirm the words of Moses, 
that he was the shrewdest of the creatures the Lord God had made. 
"Hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree?" This question 
shows that he was aware of some exceptions. He had heard of the 
Tree of Knowledge and of the Tree of Lives, which were both in 
the midst of the garden. He had heard the Lord Elohim, and the 
other Elohim, conversing on their own experience of good and evil; 
and, of the enlightenment of the man and woman in the same quali- 
ties through the eating of the Tree of Knowledge : and of their 
living for ever, if obedient, by eating of the Tree of Life. In 
reasoning upon these things, he concluded that, if they did eat of the 
forbidden fruit, they would not surely die; for they would have 
nothing more to do than to go and eat of the Tree of Life, and it 
would prevent all fatal consequences. Therefore he said, " Ye shall 
not surely die." The Lord God, it is evident, was apprehensive of 
the effect of this reasoning upon the mind of Adam and his wife ; 
for he forthwith expelled them from the garden, to prevent all possi- 
bility of access to the tree, lest they should eat, and put on immor- 
tality in sin. 

The reasoning of the Serpent operated upon the woman by exciting 
the lust of her flesh, the lust of her eyes, and the pride of life. This 
appears from the testimony. An appetite, or longing for it, that she 
might eat it, was created within her. The fruit also was very beau- 
tiful. It hung upon the tree in a very attractive and inviting manner. 
" She saw that it was good for food, and that it was pleasant to tha 
eyes" But, there was a greater inducement still than even this. 
The flesh and the eyes would soon be satisfied. Her pride of life 
had been aroused by the suggestion, that by eating it their eyes 
would be opened; and that she would be "made wise" as the 
glorious Elohim, she had so often seen in the garden. To become 
" as the gods;" to know good and evil as they knew it — was a con- 
sideration too cogent to be resisted. She not only saw that it was 
good for food, and pleasant to the eyes, but that it was " a tree to be 
desired as making one wise " as the gods ; therefore " she took of the 
fruit thereof, and did eat." Thus, as far as she was concerned, the 
transgression was complete. 

THE NATURE OF THE TRANSGRESSION. 
"The eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked." 

The effect produced upon the woman by the eating of the for- 
bidden fruit, was the excitation of the propensities. By the trans- 
gression of the law of God, she had placed herself in a state of sin; 
in which she had acquired that maturity of feeling, which is known 
to exist when females attain to womanhood. The Serpent's part had 
been performed in her deception ; and sorely was she deceived. 
Exoccting to be equal to the gods, the hitherto latent passions of her 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 75 

animal nature only were set free ; and though she now knew what 
evil sensations and impulses were, as they had done before her, she 
had failed in attaining to the pride of her life — an equality with them 
as she had seen them in their power and glory. 

In this state of animal excitation, she presented herself before the 
man, with the fruit so " pleasant to the eyes." Standing now in his 
presence she became the tempter, soliciting him to sin. She became 
to him an " evil woman flattering with her tongue ;" " whose lips 
dropped as a honeycomb, and her mouth was smoother than oil*" 
She found him " a young man void of understanding" like herself. 
We can imagine how " she caught him, and kissed him ; and with an 
impudent face, and her much fair speech, she caused him to yield." 
He accepter] the fatal fruit, u and eat with her," consenting to her 
enticement, " not knowing that it was for his life ;" though God had 
said, transgression should surely be punished with death. As yet 
inexperienced in the certainty of the literal execution of the divine 
law, and depending upon the remedial efficacy of the Tree of Lives, 
he did not believe that he should surely die. He saw every thing 
delightful around him, and his beautiful companion with the tempting 
fruit ; and yet he was told that his eyes were shut ! What wonderful 
things might he not see if his eyes were opened. And to be " as the 
gods " too, " knowing good and evil," was not this a wisdom much 
to be desired? The fair deceiver had, at length, succeeded in 
kindling in the man the same lusts that had taken possession of her- 
self. His flesh, his eyes, and his pride of life, were all inflamed ; 
and he followed in her evil way u as a fool to the correction of the 
stocks." They had both fallen into unbelief. They did not. believe 
God would do what he had promised. This was a fatal mistake. 
They afterwards found by experience, that in their sin they had 
charged God falsely; and that what he promises, he will certainly 
perform to the letter of his word. Thus, unbelief prepared them for 
disobedience ; and disobedience separated them from God. 

As the Mosaic narrative gives an account of tilings natural, upon 
which things spiritual were afterwards to he established in word and 
substance ; the key to his testimony is found in what actually exists. 
When, therefore, he tells us that the eyes of Adam and Eve were 
closed at first, in that he says they were opened by sin, we have to 
examine ourselves as natural beings for the meaning of his words. 
Moses, indeed, informs us in what sense, or to what phenomena, their 
eyes were closed, in saying, " they were both naked, the man and his 
wife, and they were not ashamed." If their eyes had been surrep- 
titiously opened, they would have been ashamed of standing before 
the Lord Elohim in a state of nudity ; and they would have had 
emotions towards one another, which would have been inconvenient. 
But, in their unsinning ignorance of the latent propensities of their 
nature, shame, which makes the subject of it feel as though he would 
hide himself in a nutshell, and be buried in the depths of the sea, 
found no place within them. They were unabashed ; and had they 
been created with their eyes open, they would have been equally so 
at all times. But, seeing that their eyes were opened in connexion 



76 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

with, and as the consequence of doing what was forbidden, bavin? 
u yielded their members servants to uncleanness, and to iniquity unto 
iniquity ;" and their superior faculties being constituted susceptible 
of the feeling, they were ashamed; and "the uncomely parts of the 
body " became " their shame ;" and from that time have been 
esteemed dishonorable, and invariably " hid." The inferior creatures 
have no such feeling as this ; because they have never sinned : but 
the parents of Cain, in their transgression, having served themselves 
of the members they afterwards concealed, were deeply affected both 
with shame and fear ; and their posterity have ever since more or 
less partaken of it after the same form. 

Having transgressed the divine law, and "solaced themselves with 
loves," " the eyes of them both were opened " as the consequence ; 
and when opened, " they knew that they were naked," which they did 
not comprehend before. " By the law is the knowledge of sin/' and 
*' sin is the transgression of law ;" so, having transgressed fhe law, 
"they knew they were naked" without waiting for the Lord to reveal 
it to them, and to permit them the lawful use of one another in his 
own time. They were quite chagrined at the discovery they had 
made; and sought to mitigate it by a contrivance of their own: so 
"they sewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves aprons." 

Although thus corporeally defended from mutual observation, the 
nakedness of their minds was still exposed. They heard the voice of 
the Elohim, which had now become terrible ; and they hid themselves 
from his presence amongst the trees. They had not yet learned, how- 
ever, that the Lord was not only a God at hand, but a God also afar 
off; and that none can hide in secret places, and he not see them ; 
for he fills both the heaven and the earth. 1 Their concealment was 
ineffectual against the voice of the Lord, who called out to him, 
" Where art thou Adam ?" And he answered, "I heard thy voice 
in the garden, and / was afraid, because I was naked ; and I hid 
myself." Adam's heart condemned him, therefore he lost his confi- 
dence before God. 2 

A GOOD, AND AN EVIL, CONSCIENCE. 

The reader, by contemplating Adam and Eve in innocency, and 
afterwards in guilt, will perceive in the facts of their case, the nature 
of a good conscience, and of an evil one. When they rejoiced in " the 
answer of a good conscience," they were destitute of shame and {'c-av. 
They could stand naked in God's presence unabashed ; and, instead of 
trembling at his voice, they rejoiced to hear it as the harbi jrer of 
good things. It was then pure and undeh'led, being devoid of all 
conscience of sin. They were then of th« truth, living in obedience 
to it as expressed in the law; and therefore their hearts were assured 
before him. No doubts and fears oppressed them then Bui mark 
the change that afterwards came over them. When they !<>st their 
good conscience, terror seized upon them at the voice of Go.l and 
shame possessed their souls ; and they sought to get out of his sight, 

1 Jer. xxiii. «i3, 24. « 1 John iii. 19--22. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE VOULD. 77 

and to remove as far from him as possible. Now, what was the cause 
of this ? There is but one answer that can be given, and that is — Sin. 

Sin, then, takes away " the answer of a good conscience towards 
God," and converts it into an evil conscience ; which may be cer- 
tainly known to exist, when the subject of it is ashamed of the truth, 
and harassed by " doubts and fears." They are ashamed of the truth, 
who, being enlightened, feel themselves condemned ; or, being igno- 
rant, apprehend it. Such, on account of unbelief, or of H a dead 
faith," may well be ashamed and afraid ; for to be ashamed of God's 
truth is to be ashamed of his wisdom and power. People of this 
description proscribe all conversation about the truth as unfashionable, 
and vulgar ; or as calculated to disturb the peace of the family circle : 
others again, make a great outcry against controversy as dangerous to 
religion; as though God's truth could be planted in the hearts of men, 
already prepossessed by God's enemy, without controversy : others 
subjected to the timidity of sin, reduce every thing to opinion, and 
inculcate " charity ;" not that they are more liberal and kind than 
other people ; but that they fear lest their own nakedness may be dis- 
covered, and "men see their shame :" while another class of bashful 
professors, cry out, " disturb not that which is quiet," which is a 
capital maxim for a rotten cause, especially where its subversion would 
break up all " vested interests," and pecuniary emoluments. So it is ; 
while " the righteous are bold as a lion, the wicked flee when no man 
pursueth," Sinners, however " pious " they may be reputed to be, 
are invariably cowards; they are ashamed of a bold stand for their 
own profession ; and afraid of an independent and impartial examina- 
tion of the law and testimony of God. 

Understanding then, that sin, or the transgression of God's law, 
evinced by doubts, fears, and shamefacedness, is the morbid principle 
of an evil conscience, what is the obvious indication to be fulfilled in 
its removal ? The answer is, blot out the sin, and the conscience of 
the patient will be cured. The morbid phenomena wiil disappear, and 
" the answer of a good conscience toward God >n remain. From the 
nature of things, it is obvious, that the sinner cannot cure himself; 
though superstition has taught him to attempt it by fastings, and 
penances, and all "the voluntary humility and vain deceit," inculcated 
by " the blind." Adam and Eve vainly imagined they could cover 
their own sin, and efface it from divine scrutiny ; but the very clumsy 
device they contrived, betrayed the defilement of their consciences. 
Their posterity have not learned wisdom by the failure of their 
endeavor ; but, to this day, they are as industriously engaged in 
inventing cloaks for their evil consciences, as were their first parents, 
when stitching fig-leaves together to cover their shame. So true is it 
that, though God made man upright, he hath sought out many inven- 
tions. 2 But. after all the patching, and altering, and scouring, they 
are but like " the filthy garments " taken from the high priest, 
Joshua ; 3 to which all the iniquity laid upon him, adhered with the 
inveteracy of a leprous plague. 

Men have not yet learned the lesson, that all they are called upon 

• i Pet. iii. 81 . ' Eccles. vii. 29, ' Zoch. iii. S, 4. 



78 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

by God to do, is to believe his word and obey his laws. He requires 
nothing more at their hands than this. If they neither believe nor 
do ; or, believe, but do not obey, they are evil doers, and at enmity 
with him. He asks men for actions, not words; for he will judge 
them " according to their works " in the light of his law ; and not 
according to their suppositious feelings, and traditions. The reason 
why he will not permit men to prescribe for their own moral evils, is, 
because he is the physician, they the lepers ; he their sovereign, they 
the rebels against his law. It is his prerogative, and his alone, to 
dictate the terms of reconciliation. Man has offended God. It 
becomes him, therefore, to surrender unconditionally ; and, with the 
humility and teachableness of a child, to receive with open heart, and 
grateful feelings, whatever in the wisdom, and justice, and benevolence 
of God, he may condescend to prescribe. Until they do this, they 
may preach in his name; 1 make broad their phylacteries; 2 sound 
trumpets in the synagogues and in the streets; 3 make long prayers in 
public; 4 disfigure their countenances with grimace that they may 
appear to fast; 5 build churches; compass sea and land to make 
proselytes; 6 found h soitals; and fill the world with their benevo- 
lencies: — all is reducible to mere fig-leaf invention as a substitute for 
" the righteousness of God." " Blessed are they whose iniquities are 
forgiven, and whose sins are covered?"" 1 but this blessedness came not 
upon Adam, nor upon any of his posterity, by garments of their own 
device. The Lord's covering for sin is " a change of raiment," even 
" white raiment/' which he counsels men to buy, " that they may be 
clothed, and that the shame of their nakedness do not appear." 8 He 
alone can furnish it. His price is that men should believe, and put 
it on. 



THE CARNAL MIND. 

" The thinking of the flesh Is enmity against God." 

When the Lord God bestowed the faculty of speech upon the 
Serpent, he enabled it to give utterance to its thoughts. The posses- 
sion of this power did not, however, confer upon it moral accounta- 
bility. This depends on a different constitution of "the flesh." 
Where no "moral sentiments" exist as a part of "the flesh," or 
brain, there is no ability in the creature to render an account for its 
aberrations from the requirements of moral, or spiritual, institutions. 
Speech only enabled it to utter the thinkings of its unsentimentalized 
intellect. It spoke like Balaam's ass, under the impulse of the sensa- 
tions excited by what it had seen and heard. The thinkings of its 
flesh could not ascend to faith, being destitute of the organic ability to 
believe ; therefore its speech could express only fleshly thoughts. 
Faith was too high an attainment for it. The light of God's law 
could not shine into it. Like all the inferior animals, it was a creature 
of mere sensation ; and could utter only sentences formed of combina- 
tions resulting from the impressions of sensible objects transmitted to 

Matt. Vli. 21— 23. 3 Matt. Kiii. 6, 6, 7. > Matt. vi. 1—4. * verse 5—7 , xxiii 14. 5 Matt. vi. 
18—18. 6 Matt, xxiii. 15. » Rom. iv. 7. • Rev. iii. 18. 



RUDIMENTS OP THE WORLD. 79 

its sensorium by the five senses ; it transcended them, however, in 
being more observant and reasoning than they. 

What it had done, and not what it intended to do, was made the ground 
of the Serpent's condemnation. " Because thou hast done this" said 
the Lord God, " thou art cursed above all cattle, &e." It was inca- 
pable of moral intention. It did not intend to deceive ; but it did 
deceive; therefore, it was a deceiver. It did not intend to lie ; but i<- 
did lie ; therefore, it was a liar and the father of a lie. It did not 
intend to cause the woman's death ; but still it brought her under 
sentence of death ; therefore, it was a murderer : and became the 
spiritual father of all intentional liars, deceivers, unbelievers, and man- 
killers, who are styled " the Serpent's seed." 

The Serpent had propensities and intellect, and so had the woman ; 
but her mental constitution differed from his, in having " moral senti- 
ments " superadded to her propensities and intellect. By the senti- 



levmor 



bj 



ments she was made a morally accountable being ; capable of be! 
and able to control and direct her other faculties in their application. 
The propensities enable a creature to propagate its species, take care 
of its young, defend itself against enemies, collect food, and so forth : 
intellect enables it to do these things, for the gratification of its sensa- 
tions ; but when, in addition to these, a being is endowed with the 
sentiments of conscientiousness, hope, veneration, benevolence, wonder, 
&c, it possesses a spiritual, or sentimental, organization, which makes 
it capable of reflecting as from a mirror, the likeness and glory of 
God. The appropriate sphere of the propensities is on things sensual 
and fleshly ; while that of spiritual, or sentimentalized, intellect, is 
on " the things of the spirit of God." In the mental constitution of 
man, God designed that the sentiments, enlightened by his truth, 
should have the ascendancy, and preside over, and govern his actions. 
Under such an arrangement, the thoughts of the man would have 
resulted from spiritual thinking as opposed to the thoughts of the 
inferior creatures, which are purely the thinking of the flesh. Where 
the truth has possession of the sentiments, setting them to work and 
so forming the thoughts, it becomes the law of God to them ; which 
the apostle styles u the law of his mind ;"' and because it is written 
there through the hearing of " the law and the testimony," which 
came to the prophets and apostles through the spirit, he terms it, 
" the law of the spirit " x inscribed '* on fleshly tables of the heart ;" 2 
and " the law of the spirit of life" because, while obeyed, it confers a 
right to eternal life. 

But in the absence of this law and testimony, the " moral senti- 
ments " are as incapable of directing a man aright, as though he were 
all intellect, or all propensities. Bv a right direction, I mean, accord- 
ing to the mind of God. The sentiments are as blind as the propen- 
sities when intellect is unenlightened by divine revelation. The truth 
of this is illustrated by the excesses into which mankind has plunged 
in the name of religion. Mohammedanism, Romanism, Paganism, 
and the infinite varieties of Protestantism, are all the result of the 
co-workings of the intellect, and sentiments, under the impulse of the 

» Rom. vii. 2'J ; viii. 2. * 2 Cor. iii. 3. 



80 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

propensities. They are all the thinkings of the flesh, predicated on 
ignorance, or misconception, of the truth. Hence, they are either 
altogether false ; or, like the dialogisms of the shrewd Serpent, a 
clumsy mixture of truth and error. 

The Carnal Mind is an expression used by Paul ; or rather, it is 
the translation of words used by him, in his epistle to the Romans. 
It is not so explicit as the original. The words he wrote are 
to (ftpovtiina. rrjs crapnos the thinking of the flesh. In this phrase, he inti- 
mates to us, that the flesh is the thinking substance, that is, the brain ; 
which, in another place, he terms " the fleshly tablet of the heart" 
The kind of thinking, therefore, depends upon the conformation of 
this organ. Hence, the more elaborate and perfect its mechanism, 
the more precise and comprehensive the thought ; and vice versa It 
is upon this principle such a diversity of mental manifestation is 
observable among men and other animals ; but after all, how diverse 
soever they may be, they are all referable to one and the same thing — 
the thinking of the flesh, whose elaborations are excited by the pro- 
pensities, and the sensible phenomena of the world. 

Now, the law of God is given, that the thinking of the flesh, 
instead of being excited bv the propensities within, and the world 
without, may be conducted according to its direction. So long as 
Adam and Eve yielded to its guidance, they were happy and contented. 
Their thoughts were the result of right thinking, and obedience was 
the consequence. But when they adopted the Serpent's reasonings as 
their own, these being at variance with the truth, caused an " enmity " 
against it in their thinkings, which is equivalent to " enmity against 
God." When their sin was perfected, the propensities, or lusts, hav- 
ing been inflamed, became " a law in their members ;" and because it 
was implanted in their flesh by transgression, it is styled, " the law of 
sin ;" and death being the wages of sin, it is also termed, " the law 
of sin and death j" but by philosophy, " the law of nature." 

The thinking of the flesh, uninfluenced by the ameliorating agency 
of divine truth,, is so degenerating in its effects, that it reduces man to 
savagism. There is nothing elevating or ennobling in fleshly 
thoughts ; on the contrary, they tend to physical deterioration and 
death ; for " to be carnally minded is death ; but to be spiritually 
minded is life and peace." 1 If ferocious creatures become tame, or 
civilized, it is the result of what may be termed' spiritual influences ; 
which, operating from without the animal, call into exercise its higher 
powers, by which the more turbulent are subdued, or kept in check. 
It is unheard of that wild beasts, or savage men, ever tamed or 
civilized themselves; on the contrary, the law in the members when 
uncontrolled in its mental operations is so vicious in its influence as to 
endanger the continuance of the race. If, therefore, God had aban- 
doned Adam and his posterity to the sole guidance of the newly 
developed propensities, the earth would long ere this have been 
peopled by a population not a whit above the aborigines of New 
Holland, or the Ghelanes of Africa. Notwithstanding the antag- 
onism established between his iaw and the flesh, by which a whole- 

l Rom. viii. 0. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 81 

some conflict has been maintained in the world, a vast proportion of 
its people are " blind of heart" and '* past feeling," in consequence of 
their intellect and sentiments having fallen into moral desuetude ; or 
of being exercised upon the reasonings of the flesh, as were Eve's 
upon the speculations of the Serpent 

The unilluminated thinking of the flesh gives birth to the a works 
of the flesh ; which are, adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lascivious- 
ness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, 
dissensions, sects, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such 
like." 1 Unchecked by the truth and judgments of God, the world 
would have been composed solely of such characters. Indeed, not- 
withstanding all his interference to save it from the ruinous conse- 
quences of its vicious enmity against his law, it seems to have attained 
a state of immorality in the apostolic age well nigh to reprobation. 
" They were," says the apostle, " without excuse ; because that when 
they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thank- 
ful ; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart 
was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise (or philosophers) 
they became fools, and changed the glory of the Incorruptible God 
into an image made like to corruptible men, and to birds, and four- 
footed beasts, and creeping things Wherefore God also gave them 
up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor 
their own bodies between themselves : who changed the truth of God 
into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the 
Creator, who is blessed for ever. For this cause, God gave them up 
unto vile affections; working that which is unseemly, and receiving 
in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet. And 
even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave 
them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not con- 
venient; being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wicked- 
ness, covctousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, 
deceit, malignity, whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, 
proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, with- 
out understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, 
implacable, unmerciful." 2 

Such is the carnal mind, or thinking of the flesh, as illustrated by 
the works of the flesh: a hideous deformity, whose conception is 
referable to the infidelity and disobedience of our first parents ; by 
whom " sin entered into the world and death by sin." 3 It is the 
serpent mind ; because, it was through his untruthful reasonings 
believed, that a like mode of thinking to his was generated in the 
heart of Eve and her husband. The seed sown there by the Serpent 
was corruptible seed. Hence the carnal mind, or thinking of the 
flesh, unenlightened by the truth, is the serpent in the flesh. It was 
for this reason, that Jesus styled his enemies, " serpents, and a gene- 
ration of vipers." 4 Their actions all emanated from the serpent- 
thinking of the flesh, which displayed " a wisdom not from above," 
which was at once " earthly, sensual, and devilish ;" as opposed to 
that which "is from above," and which is "first pure, then peace- 

i Gal. v. 19. a Rom. i. 20—31. 3 Rom. v. 12. * Matt, xxiii. 33. 



52 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

able, gentle and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, 
without partiality, and without hypocrisy." 1 

The carnal mind, or serpent in the flesh, is the subject of a two- 
fold manifestation, namely, individually and collectively. An indi- 
vidual manifestation is more or less observable in persons who " mind 
the things of the flesh," or " earthly things." 2 To do this is to be 
" after the flesh" and u in the flesh ,*" of whom, it is testified, " they 
cannot please God." By a figure, sin is put for the serpent, 
the effect for the cause ; seeing that he was the suggester of unbelief 
and disobedience to man, by whom it entered into the world. Hence, 
the idea of the serpent in the flesh is expressed by " sin in the flesh ;" 
which was " condemned in the flesh" when Jesus was crucified for, 
or, on account of sin, " in the likeness of sinful flesh" In the 
animal man there dwelleth no good thing. The apostle affirms this 
of himself, considered as an unenlightened son of the flesh. " In 
me, that is, in my flesh," says he, "dwelleth no good thing." 
Hence, whatever good was in him, did not originate from the think- 
ing of the flesh excited by the propensities, and traditions of 
Gamaliel ; but from " the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus ;" 
that is, from the influence of " the testimony of God," concerning 
" the things of the kingdom, and name of Jesus Christ," upon " the 
fleshly tablet of his heart," most assuredly believed. Submission to 
this *' made me free," says he, " from the law of sin and death." 
This attests the truth of the Lord's saying, that " if the truth made a 
man free, he should be free indeed." Sin, though still in the flesh, 
should no more reign in his mortal body, nor have dominion over 
him. 

If it were not for the law, or truth, of God, we should not know 
what sin is ; for, says the apostle, " I had not known sin, but by the 
law;" "for without the law, sin is dead" If a man committed 
theft, or adultery, or any other thing, he would not know whether he 
did right or wrong in God's esteem, if God had not said, they shall 
not be done. The lower animals steal, kill, and obey their propensi- 
ties uncontrolled ; but, in so doing, they do not sin, because God has 
made them with the ability and disposition so to do, and has not 
forbidden them. Wrong consists not in any particular act of which 
we are capable ; but in that act being contrary to the letter and spirit 
of the divine testimony : in other words, right is the doing of the 
will of God. Hence, if we saw a man bowing down before an 
image of the Virgin Mary, which is death by his law, and he com- 
manded us to kill him, we should do wrong to refuse, although he 
has said, " Thou shalt not kill." Men have lust sight of this truth. 
They know not, or seem not to know, that the only true standard of 
right and wrong, truth and error, is the divine law. Hence, they 
inflict upon themselves and one another, all sorts of pains and penal- 
ties, making their lives miserable, because of nonconformity to 
standards of faith and morals, which know no other paternity than 
the serpent-thinking of sinful flesh. 

Sin was in the world from the fall to the giving of the law through 

i James Hi. 15, 17. » Rom. viii. 5 ; Phil. iii. 18, 19 ; CoL Ui. 2 ; 1 John ii. 15. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 83 

Moses. But it did not appear to be sin to those who obeyed its im- 
pulses ; because, there being no law such as the Mosaic, " the sons of 
God" did not know when they might have erred. They were not held 
accountable to any future retribution for doing things, which under 
Moses' law were punishable with death. They were amenable only to 
" the way of the Lord," even as the disciples of Jesus are at this 
day. This required them to walk by faith in the nurture and admoni- 
tion of the Lord, whose love was shed abroad in their hearts by the 
testimony they believed. 1 

The Serpent in the flesh shows itself in individuals in all the colors 
of its skin. It manifests itself in all the deceptions men practice 
upon themselves and one another. Its most insidious and dangerous 
manifestations emanate from the pulpit, and ecclesiastical thrones. 
In these, the Serpent presents himself to mankind, presumptuously 
entertaining them with things he does not understand. From thence 
he delights them with the assurance of wisdom upon principles in 
harmony with their nature. u God doth not mean," saith he, 
" exactly what he says. Trouble not your consciences about the 
letter of his word. He knows, that the circumstances in which you 
are placed prevent a rigid construction of it. Besides, the times are 
changed, and the world is better than it used to be. He takes the 
will for the deed. The spirit is everything; the letter is nothing; 
for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. Eat, then, and drink, 
and be merry. Be diligent in business, fervent in the cause of your 
church, serving your clergy; and when you die, ye shall be as gods 
in the elysian fields !" 

But, the serpent in the flesh manifests itself in all the high places 
of the earth. It obtrudes itself upon all occasions, and through all 
the channels of human life. Popes, cardinals, and priests ; bishops, 
ministers, and deacons ; emperors, kings, and presidents ; with all 
who sustain them, and execute their behests, are but the fleshly media 
through which the thinking of the flesh finds expression. They are 
"the high things that exalt themselves against the knowledge of 
God," which are to be cast down. 2 They are faithless of this know- 
ledge, which they make of none effect by their traditions ; and 
" whatsoever is not of faith is sin." My business will be to show 
what this knowledge is ; and, if it be found, that I speak not accord- 
ing to " the law and the testimony," it will be because there is no light 
in me; and that like them, I speak my own thoughts as of the flesh, 
and not according to the gospel of the kingdom of God. 

As I have remarked before, sin is personified by Paul as " pre- 
eminently a sinner ;" and by another apostle, as " the Wicked One." 3 
In this text, he says, " Cain was of that Wicked One, and slew his 
brother." There is precision in this language which is not to be dis- 
regarded in the interpretation. Cain was of the Wicked One ; that 
is, he was a son of sin — of the serpent-sin, or original transgression. 
The Mosaic narrative of facts is interrupted at the end of the sixth 
verse of the third chapter. The fact passed over there, though 
implied in the seventh verse, is plainly stated in the first verse 

\ Rom. v. 13. 2 2 Cor. x. 5. '1 John iii 12. 

F 2 



84 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

of the third chapter. These texts conjoined read thus ; " and 
Eve gave unto her husband, and he did eat with her. And Adam 
knew Eve his wife ; and she conceived. And the eyes of them both 
were opened, and they knew that they were naked." Now, here was 
a conception in sin, the originator of which was the Serpent. When 
therefore, in the "set time" afterwards, " Eve bare Cain," though pro- 
created by Adam, he was of the Serpent, seeing that he suggested 
the transgression which ended in the conception of Cain. In this 
way, sin in the flesh being put for the Serpent, Cain was of that 
Wicked One, the pre-eminent sinner, and the first-born of the 
Serpent's seed. 

Now, they who do the works of the flesh, are the children of the 
Wicked One, or of sin in the flesh ; on the like principle that those 
Jews only were the children of Abraham, who did the works of 
Abraham. But, they did not the deeds of Abraham, but evil deeds. 
They were liars, hypocrites, and murderers ; therefore, said Jesus, 
" Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye are 
willing to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and stood 
not in the truth, because there is no truth in him." 1 We have seen 
in what sense this is affirmed of the Serpent, the unaccountable and 
irresponsible author of sin. Every son of Adam is " conceived ir 
sin and shapen in iniquity," and therefore "sinful flesh;" on the 
principle, that " what is born of the flesh is flesh." If he obey the 
impulses of his flesh, he is like Cain, " of the Wicked One :" but, i: 
he believe the " exceeding great and precious promises of God,' : 
obey the law of faith, and put to death unlawful obedience to his pro- 
pensities, he becomes a son of the living God, and a brother and 
joint-heir of the Lord Jesus Christ of the glory to be revealed in the 
last time. 

But, serpent-sin, being a constituent of human nature, is treated 
of in the scripture in the aggregate, as well as in its individual mani 
festations. The " lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride 
of life," generated in our nature by sin, and displayed in all the 
children of sin, taken in the aggregate constitute " the world," which 
stands opposed to God. Serpent-sin in the flesh, is the god of the 
world, who possesses the glory of it. Hence, to overcome" the world 
is to overcome the Wicked One ; because sin finds its expression in 
the things of the world. These things are the civil and ecclesiastical 
polities, and social institutions of the nations; which are all based 
upon " the wisdom that descendeth not from above " — the serpent 
wisdom of the flesh. If this be admitted, it is easy to appreciate the 
full force of the saying, "the friendship of the "world is enmity 
against God. Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is 
the enemy of God." 2 Let no one, then, who would have God's 
favor, seek the honor and glory of the world in Church or State; for 
promotion in either of them, can only be attained by sacrificing fh e 
principles of God's truth upon the altar of popular favor, or of princely 
patronage. Let no man envy men in place and power. It is their 
misfortune and will be their ruin ; and though many of them profess 

1 John viii. 89, 44. 2 James iv 4. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 85 

to be very pious, and to have great zeal for religion ; yea, zeal as 
flaming as the scribes and pharisees of old, they are in friendship 
with the world, which in return heaps upon them its riches, and 
honor, and therefore they are the enemies of God. It is unnecessary 
to indicate them in detail. If the reader understand the scripture, he 
can easily discern them. Wherever the gospel of the kingdom is 
supplanted by sectarian theology, there is a strong hold of " the 
carnal mind, which is enmity against God ; for it is not subject to 
the law of God, neither indeed can be.' 11 This is a rule to which 
there is no exception ; and the grand secret of that formality, cold- 
ness, and spiritual death, which are said to paralyze " the churches. " 
They are rich in all things, but the truth ; and of that there is a 
worse than Egyptian scarcity. 

THE PRINCE OF TFIE WORLD. 

" The prince of this world shall be cast out." 

Sin made flesh, whose character is revealed in the works of the 
flesh, is the Wicked One of the world. He is styled by Jesus, 
6 apxow tov koct/jlov towou, the Prince of this world. Kosmos, rendered 
world in this phrase, signifies, that order of things constituted upon 
the basis of sin in the flesh, and styled the kingdom of Satan, 2 as 
opposed to the kingdom of God ; which is to be established upon the 
foundation of " the word made flesh" obedient unto death. Incar- 
nated sin, and incarnated obedience, are the bases of the two hostile 
kingdoms of God, and of the adversary. The world is Satan's 
kingdom ; therefore it is, that " the saints," or people of God, both 
Israelites outwardly 3 and "Israelites indeed," 4 are a dispersed and 
persecuted community. Satan's kingdom is the kingdom of sin. It 
is a kingdom in which u sin reigns in the mortal body," and thus has 
dominion over men. It is quite fabulous to locate it in a region of 
ghosts and hobgoblins, remote from, or under the earth, where Pluto 
reigns as " God of Hell." This notion is a part of the wisdom of 
those fleshly thinkers, who, as the apostle says, " professing them- 
selves to be wise, became fools ;" a wisdom, too, which " God hath 
made foolishness " 5 by " the light of the glorious gospel of Christ." 6 
The kingdom of sin is among the living upon the earth ; and it is 
called the kingdom of Satan, because " all the power of the enemy," 
or adversary, of God and his people, is concentrated and incarnated 
in it. It is a kingdom teeming with religion, or rather, forms of 
superstition, all of which have sprung from the thinking of sinful 
flesh. This is the reason why men hate, or neglect, or disparage, the 
Bible. If the leaders of the people were to speak honestly they 
would confess that they did not understand it. Their systems of 
divinity are the untoward thinkings of sinful flesh ; and they know that 
they cannot interpret the Bible intelligibly according to their princi- 
ples. At all events they have not yet accomplished it. Hence, one 
class have forbidden their people the use of the scriptures at all, and 

' Rom. viii. 7. * Matt. xii. 26. s R 0m . j. 28, 29 ; ix. o, 7, 8. * John i. 47. « 1 Cor. i. 19, 20. 
« 2 Cor. iv. b, 4, 6. 



SO RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

have placed it among prohibited books. Another class advocates 
them, not because it walks by the light of them, but because they 
hate the tyranny of Rome. These, in their public exhibitions, sub- 
stitute their sermonizings for "reasoning out of the scriptures," and 
"■ expounding out of the law of Moses and the Prophets." 1 Thus 
they neglect the Bible, or use it only as a book of maxims and 
mottoes for their sermons ; which for the most part have as much to 
do with the subject treated of in the text, as with the science of gym- 
nastics, or perpetual motion. But the carnal policy does not end 
here. The neglect of the preachers might be supplied by the search- 
ing of the scriptures by the people themselves. But this is dis- 
couraged by disparagements from the pulpit. The word is proclaimed 
to be " a dead letter ;" the prophecies are said to be unintelligible ; the 
apocalypse incomprehensible, and utterly bewildering ; that it is 
necessary to go to colege to study divinity before it can be judiciously 
explained ; and so forth. The people, for whom I write, know this to 
be the truth. But, what is the english of all this? It is, that the 
pulpit orators and newspaper scribes, are consciously ignorant of 
" the sure word of prophecy ;'" so that, in order to maintain their 
ascendancy, they must repress the enterprise of the people, lest they 
should become " wiser than their teachers ;" and find that they could 
do infinitely better without their services than with them, and thus 
their occupation would be gone. As for a college education in 
divinity qualifying boys for " preaching the wordy 7 the absurdity of 
the conceit is manifest in the fact, that the " college-bred divines " 
are all at variance among themselves upon its meaning. Call a con- 
vention of priests and preachers of all religious sects and parties, and 
assign to them the work of publishing a scriptural and unanimous 
reply to the simple question, what do the scriptures teach as the mea- 
sure of faith, and rule of conduct, to him who would inherit the 
kingdom ? Let it be such a reply as would stand the scrutiny of 
deep and earnest investigation — and what does the reader expect 
would be the result ? Would their knowledge of all the languages 
living and dead; of Euclid's Elements; of Ligori, Bellarmine, 
Luther, Calvin, and Arminius ; of the mythologies of the Greeks 
and Romans; of all the creeds, confessions, catechisms, and articles 
of " Christendom ;" of logic, ancient and modern ; of the art of 
sermonizing; and of all religious controversies extant : — would their 
acquaintance with such lore as this bring them to unanimity ; and 
cause them to manifest themselves as "workmen that need not to be 
ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth ?" What can we reason 
upon this point, but from what we know ? Experience, then, teaches 
us, that their performance of such a thing, so simple and easy in 
itself, would be utterly impracticable; for u the thinking of the flesh 
is enmity against God ;" and until they throw away their traditions, 
and study the word, which is very different to " studying divinity j'" 
they will continue as they are, perhaps unconsciously, the perverters 
and" enemies of the truth. 

The kingdom of. Satan is manifested under various phases. When 

1 Acts sxviii. 23, 81. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 87 

the word was embodied in sinful flesh, and dwelt among the Jews, 
the Kosmos was constituted of the Roman world ; which was then 
based upon the institutions of paganism. After these were suppressed, 
the kingdom of the adversary assumed the Constantinian form ; 
which was subsequently changed in the west, to the papal and pro- 
testant order of things ; and in the east, to the Mohammedan. These 
phases, however, no more affect the nature of the kingdom, than the 
changes of the moon alter her substance. The lord that dominates 
over them all from the days of Jesus to the present time, is Sin ; the 
incarnate accuser and adversary of the law of God, and therefore 
styled " the Devil and Satan." 

The words 6 apx^v signify the prince, or one invested with power. 
All persons in authority are styled apxom-M in the New Testament ; 
such as magistrates, and chiefs among the people. Hence, the arch on 
of the archons, would be the chief magistrate of the kingdom. Now, 
sin in its sovereign manifestations among the nations, executes its will 
and pleasure through the civil and ecclesiastical authorities of a state. 
What, then, is decreed by emperors, kings, popes, and subordinate 
rulers, are the mandates of " the Prince of the World ;" who works 
in them all to gratify their own lusts, oppress the people, and " make 
war against the saints," with all the energy they possess. Taken 
collectively from the chief magistrate to the lowest, they are styled, 
apx ai an d ££ouo-iai, principalities and powers; the Koo-fxoKpaTopzs tov o-kotov? 
rov aLoouoi toutov, the world-rulers of the darkness of this age ; who are 

ra irvtvfiaTiKa ttjs Trovtjpias tv rots Eirovpaviois, the Spirits of wickedness ill 

the high places of the kingdoms. 1 So the apostle w T rites of the rulers 
of the world in his day ; and from the conduct they now exhibit 
before the nations in all their kingdoms, it is clear that the style is as 
characteristic of the rulers, and of these times, as it was in the first cen- 
tury of the christian era. Iniquity has only changed its form, and 
mode of attack against the truth. The world's rulers, temporal and 
spiritual, are as essentially hostile to the gospel of the kingdom as 
ever. They could not embrace it, and retain the friendship of the 
world. This is as impossible now as at the beginning. But, things 
are now quiet with respect to the gospel ; not because the world is 
reconciled to it ; but because there are scarcely any to be found who 
have intelligence of it, faith, and courage enough, earnestly to contend 
for it as it was originally delivered to the saints. 2 

In apostolic times, it was the privilege of the church to make 
known to the world-rulers "the manifold wisdom of God." 3 This 
mission brought the disciples of Christ into contact with them, as is 
related in the Acts. When they stood before these men ot sin, in 
whom the thinking of sinful flesh worked strongly, the truth of God 
proclaimed to them brought out the evil of the flesh in all its malig- 
nity. They imprisoned the disciples of Christ ; threatened them with 
death ; tempted them with rewards ; and when they could not shake 
their fidelity to the truth, tormented them with the crudest tortures 
they could invent. The apostle styles these, the ntQooticu rov SiapoXov, 
the artifices, or wiles of the accuser; 41 against which, he exhorts 

< Ephes. vi. IS. > Jude S. * Ephes. iii. 10. * Ephes. iii. 11. 



88 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

believers to stand firm, being panoplied with the whole armour of 
God. The war being thus commenced by an attack upon the strong 
holds of power, the magistrates, urged on by the priests, were not 
content to take vengeance against them when they came in their way ; 
but they obtained imperial decrees to hunt them out, and destroy 
them. This ihey did with destructive energy and effect. They 
calumniated the disciples, charging them with the most licentious and 
impious practices; and employed spies and informers, who personated 
brethren, to walk among them, and watch an opportunity of accusing 
them before the judge. These adcer>aries of the christians, being- 
actuated by the same spirit of sinful flesh, the apostle terms 6 avi-idiKos 
vfitav <Sia/3o\os your adversary the accuser; and to express the ferocious 
spirit that impelled the enemy, be compares him to a roaring lion, 
walking about, on the look out for prey. "Resist him," says he; 
not by wrestling with flesh and blood in personal combat ; but by 
continuing " stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings 
are inflicted in the world upon your brethren." 1 

To walk being dead in trespasses and sins, is to live according to 
the course (aiwi/) of this world. So says the apostle. 2 The course of 
the world is according to the thinking of sinful flesh, in whatever way 
it may be manifested, or expressed. If a man embrace one of the 
religions of Satan's kingdom, he is still " dead in trespasses and 
sins," and walks according to the course of the world. In brief, 
any thing short of faith in the gospel of the kingdom, and obedience 
to the law of faith, is walking according to the course of the world. 
To walk in sin is to walk in this course. Hence, the apostle terms 
walking according to the course of the world, walking according to 
the Prince of the Power of the Air — 6 apx MV **!* ££ou<nas tou aspo? ; 
which he explains as " the Spirit nom working in the children of 
disobedience." The " power of the air" or aerial power, is the 
political power of the world, which is animated and pervaded by the 
spirit of disobedience, which is sin in the flesh; and styled above, the 
Prince of the Power of the Air. This is that prince of whom Jesus 
spoke, saying, " Now is the condemnation (koictis) of this world ; 
now shall the Prince of this World be cast out," 3 that is, "judged." 4 
The key to this is suggested in what follows; u And I, if I be lifted 
up from the earth, will draw all unto me. This he said, signifying 
what death lie should die." 

The judgment of the Prince of the World by God, was exhibited 
in the contest between Jesus and the civil and spiritual power in 
Judea. " Its poison was like the poison of a serpent," 5 when "the 
iniquity of his heels compassed him about." " The battle was against 
him" for a time. They bruised him in the heel. 6 "The enemy 
smote his life down to the ground ; and made him to dwell in dark- 
ness, as those that had been long dead. "7 But here the serpent- 
power of sin ended. It had stung him to death by the strength of 
the law, which cursed every one that was hanged upon a tree ; Jesus 
being cursed upon this ground, God " condemned sin in the flesh," 

1 1 Pet. v. 8, 9. 2 Eph. ii. 1, 2. » John xii. 31. < John xvi. 11. « Psalm lviii. 4. « Gen. iii. 15. 

i Psalm cxliii. 3. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WOULD. 89 

through hirn. 1 Thus was sin, the Prince of the World, condemned, 
and the world with him according to the existing course of it. But, 
Jesus rose again, leading captivity captive ; and so giving to the 
world an earnest, that the time would come when death should be 
abolished, and sin, the power of death, destroyed. Sinful flesh was 
laid upon him, " that through death, he might destroy him that had 
the power of death, that is, the devil," or sin in the flesh :~ for, "for 
this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy 

THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL." 3 

It is clear to my mind that sin is the thing referred to by the apostle 
in the word devil. The sting of the Serpent is its power of destruction. 
The "sting of death" is the power of death ; and that, the apostle says, 
in one place, "is sin;" and in another, u is the devil." There are 
not two powers of death ; but one only. Hence, the devil and sin, 
though different words, represent the same thing. " Sin had the 
power of death," and would have retained it, if the man, who was 
obedient unto death, had not gained the victory over it. But, thanks 
be to God, the earth is not to be a charnel house for ever ; for he 
that overcame the world in his own person, 4 is destined hereafter to 
"take away the sin of the world," and to " make all things new." 5 
Every curse will then cease, 6 and death be swallowed up in victory ; 
for death shall be no more. 7 

The works of the devil, or evil one, are the works of sin. Indi- 
vidually, they are "the works of the flesh " exhibited in the lives of 
sinners ; collectively, they are on a larger scale, as displayed in the 
polities of the world. All the institutions of the kingdom of the 
adversary are the works which have resulted from the thinking of 
sinful flesh ; though happily for the saints of God, " the powers that 
be " are controlled by him. They cannot do what they please. 
Though defiant of his truth, and his hypocritical and malignant ene- 
mies, he serves himself of them; and dashes them against one another 
when the enormity of their crimes, reaching to heaven, demands his 
terrible rebuke. 

Anion*'' the works of sin, are the numerous diseases which trans- 
gression has brought upon the world. The Hebrews, the idiom of 
whose language is derived from the Mosaic narrative of the origin of 
things, referred disease to sin under the names of the devil and 
Satan. Hence, they inquired, " who sinned, this man or his parents, 
that he was born blind?" A woman "bowed together wiih a spirit 
of infirmity for eighteen years," is said to have been " bound of 
Satan," or the adversary, for that time; and her restoration to health 
is termed "loosing her from the bond." 8 Paul also writes in the 
same idiom to the disciples at Corinth, commanding them to deliver 
the incestuous brother " unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh ;" 
that is, inflict disease upon him, that he may be brought to repent- 
ance, " that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.'"9 

J Gal ii\ 13 : Rom. viii. 3. 3 Heb. ii. 14. 3 1 John iii. 8. 4 John xvi. 33. 5 R e v. xxi 5. « xxii. 8. 
» xxi. 4. s Luke xiii. 10—17. » 1 Cor. v. 5. 



90 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

Thus he was "judged and chastened of the Lord, that he might not 
be condemned with the world." 1 This had the desired effect ; for 
he was overwhelmed with sorrow. Wherefore, he exhorts the 
spiritually gifted men of the body, 2 to forgive and comfort, or restore 
him to health, " lest Satan should get an advantage over them," by 
the offender being reduced to despair: " for," says the apostle, "we 
are not ignorant of his devices," or those of sin in the flesh, 3 which 
is very deceitful. Others of the Corinthians were offenders in 
another way. They were very disorderly in the celebration of the 
Lord's Supper; eating and drinking condemnation to themselves. 
" For this cause," says he ; that is, because they sinned thus, "many 
are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep" or are dead. 
Many other cases might be adduced from scripture to show the 
connexion between sin and disease ; but these are sufficient. If there 
were no moral evil in the world, there would be no physical evils. 
Sin and punishment are as cause and effect in the divine economy. 
God does not willingly afflict, but is long suffering and kind. If 
men, however, will work sin, they must lay their account with " the 
-wages of sin ;" which is disease, famine, pestilence, the sword, misery, 
and death. But, let the righteous rejoice, that the enemy will not 
always triumph in the earth. The Son of God was manifested to 
destroy him, and all his works; which, by the power and blessing of 
the Father, he will assuredly do. 

THE GREAT DRAGON, 

O o</us 6 ap\aio<i, 6 KaXovfxtvos Aiaj8o\os, /cat 6 Sarai/as, 6 irXavoav ri)v 6i- 

KOVfJLEVtlV 6\tJV- 

" The old Serpent, surnamed the Accuser and the Adversary, who deceives the whole habitable." 

The oiKovfitvi] 6\»j, or whole habitable, in the days of the apostles, 
was that part of the earth's surface which acknowledged the dominion 
of Rome. Upon this platform had been erected the largest empire 
then known to the world. By its imperial constitution was aggre- 
gated in one dominion, all " the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, 
and the pride of life." These lusts found free course through the 
constituted authorities of the pagan church and state. Of the horrors, 
perpetrated upon the world lying under them by their wanton riot, 
the reader will find an ample account in the history of pagan Rome. 
In the progress and maturity of this dominion, sin reigned triumphant 
over the human race. lis lusts were let loose ; and the propensities 
alone directed the policy of the world. 

The only antagonism experienced by sin was established in Judea. 
There, as we have seen, the first battle was fought, and the first vic- 
tory won over sin, by the Son of Mary. These were the two combat- 
ants ; sin, working in the children of disobedience ; and " the 
trathy" in the person of Jesus. Sin bruised him in the heel ; but 
God healed him of his wound ; and so prepared him for the future 
contest, when he should bruise sin in the head. Now, sin could only 
have crucified him by the hands of power ; for as this world is a con- 

1 1 Cor. xi. 32. » James v. 14. » 2 Cor. ii. 6—11. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 91 

crete, and not an indigested concourse of abstractions, sin, which in 
the abstract " is a transgression of law/' must be incorporate to be 
competent to act. Sin corporealized attacked Jesus through the 
Roman power instigated by the chief priests of Israel, At this 
crisis, sin was brought to a head, and ready to sting its victim to 
death. The event was now about to happen, which the Lord God 
predicted, saying to the Serpent, " thou shalt bruise his heel. 1 No 
one would be simple enough to suppose that the literal Serpent was 
to do this in propria persona. He was, however, to do it, id the 
sense of his being the instrumental cause of sin ; which, through 
those that should afterwards obey it, should inflict a violent death 
upon the son of the woman. Hence, the Roman power, which put 
Jesus to death (for the Jews had not power to do it) represented the 
Serpent in the transaction. And, as sin had been working in the 
children of disobedience for 4000 years ; manifesting itself in the 
Ninevite Assyrian, Chaldean, Persian, and Macedonian empires, 
whose power was at length absorbed into the Roman, the last came 
to be symbolized as " the Old Serpent." 

When the woman's seed rose from among the dead, and " led 
captivity captive," the war upon the Old Serpent began in good 
earnest. The manner in which it was conducted on both sides, may 
be learned from the Acts of Apostles. The parties were the Jewish 
and the Roman power on the one hand; and the Apostles and their 
brethren on the other. These enemies were the two seeds; the 
former, the " Seed of the Serpent ;" and the latter, by constitution in 
Christ Jesus, the " Seed of the Woman.'''' Hence, in the Apocalypse, 
"the Old Serpent," 2 and "the Woman,'" 3 became the symbols by 
which they are represented. During 280 years ; that is, from the 
day of Pentecost A.D. 33, to A.D. 313, when Constantine established 
himself in Rome, the contest raged between the pagan power and the 
woman with intense fury. She was calumniated, accused, and tor- 
tured, by the Old Serpent without pity. Hence, the Spirit of God, 
surnamed him Aia/3o\os, or the Accuser; and Sarai/as, or the Adver- 
sary ; so that, when he was " cast out " from the government of the 
empire, "a loud voice" is represented as "saying in the heaven, 
Now is come deliverance, and power, and the kingdom of our God, 
and the dominion of his Christ : for the Accuser of our brethren, who 
accuseth them before God day and night, is cast down." 4 The history 
of this period is a striking illustration of the " enmity " 5 God has 
put between the seed of the Serpent, and the seed of the woman. In 
the war between them, the heel of her seed was bruised by the Ser- 
pent power, as it had bruised that of their great Captain; but thanks 
be to God who gives them the victory, the time is at the door, when 
they will leave the dead, and with him bruise the Old Serpent's head 
upon the mountains of Israel. 6 There can be no friendship between 
these parties. Death or victory is the only alternative. There can 
be no peace in the world till one or o,ther be suppressed. The 
"enmity" is the essential hostility betwixt sin and God's law, which 

' Oen. iii. 15. » Rev. xii. 3, 9 ; xxi. 2. 3 Rev. xii. 1, 4, 6, 13, 14—17. 4 Rev. xii. 10. 5 Gen. iii. 
'5. 6 Ezek. xxxix. 4. 



92 RUDIMENTS OF TEE WORLD. 

is the truth. Either truth must conquer sin, or sin must abolish the 
truth ; but compromise there can be none. I have great faith in the 
power of truth, because I have faith in God. He is pledged to give 
it the victory ; and though deceivers in church and state may triumph 
for the time, and tyrants li destroy the earth," their end is certain and 
their destruction sure. 

The Dragon is the organic symbol of the Old Serpent power, as 
the Leopard with four heads and four wings 1 was, of the quadru- 
partite constitution of the Macedonian. The Dragon appears in four 
principal scenes in the Apocalypse : first, in the taking him who 
hindered out of the way 2 A.D. 313 ; second, in the surrendering of 
the power, throne, and extensive dominion of the west, to papalized 
imperio-regal Europe, A.D. 800 ; 3 third, in the present crisis of the 
gathering of "the powers that be" to their last conflict for the world's 
dominion ; 4 and fourth,, in the suppression of the Serpent-power by 
the Lord Jesus, when he bruises his head, and restrains him for 1000 
years. 5 As the symbol of the Old Serpent in its pagan constitution, 
with Rome as his satanic seat, he is styled " the Great Red Dragon, 
having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads ;" 
but after the revolution by which paganism was suppressed, the ser- 
pent-power of Rome is simply styled " the Dragon." About A.D. 
334, a new capital was built, and dedicated, by Constantine, and 
called New Rome by an imperial edict; which, however, was 
afterwards superseded by the name of Constantinople. Old, and 
New, Rome were now the two capitals of the Dragon-dominion ; 
and so continued to be until Old Rome was surrendered to the 
imperio-papal power of the West. New Rome, or Constantinople, 
then became the sole capital of the Dragon empire ; and Old Rome 
the capital of the Seven-headed and Ten-horned Beast ; an arrange- 
ment which has continued about 1050 years, even to this day : so 
that "they do homage to the Dragon, and they do homage to the 
Beast," 6 that is, they of the east are subject to Constantinople ; and 
they of the west, to Rome. 

But, the time is at hand when the dominion, divided between the 
Dragon and the Beast, will be re-united ; and the old Roman terri- 
tory, the 6iKov[Lzvr\ o\n, with an immense addition of domain, asrain 
subjected to one sovereign. This will be by the destruction of the 
Beast,? and the expulsion of the Turks from Constantinople; which 
will then become the throne of the dominion, represented by Nebu- 
chadnezzar's Image, which is to be broken to pieces in " the latter 
days." 8 The establishment of this sovereignty being accomplished, 
it stands upon the earth as the Accuser and Adversary of God's 
people Israel; and will make war upon them ;9 and will combat 
with the Faithful and True One, and his saints, 10 as did the Old 
Serpent-power against Michael n Constantine and his confederates, in 
the early part of the fourth century. The result will be the same. 
The victory will be with ^Tesus, the Great Prince of Israel, 12 who 

•Dan. vii. 6. 3 2 Thess. ii. 7. 3 Rev. xiii. 2, 4. 4 Rev. xvi. 13. 5 Rev. xxi. 2. 6 Rev. xiii. 4. 

'Rev. xix. 20; Dan. vii. 11. 8 Dan. ii. 28, 34, 35. 9 Dan. xi. 41, 45 ; Ezek. xxxviii. 8- 12 , 

'<> Rev. xix. 11, 14. » Rev. xii. 7. I» Dan. xii. 1. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 93 

will break his power to pieces upon the mountains of Israel in the 
Battle of Armageddon. 1 This great Adversary of the latter days, 
is the Northern Autocrat for the time being. He is styled Gog by 
Ezekiel. 2 In him will be acuminated " all the power of the enemy ;" 
that is, of Sin, imperially manifested in a dominion, such as the 
wodd has never seen before. Because of this, it is styled the Old 
Serpent ; and because it will exist upon the old Roman territory, it is 
called the Dragon ; and from its hostility to God and his truth, it is 
"surnamed the Devil and Satan." 

THE MAN OF SIN. 
" The Man of Sin, the Son of Perdition." 

The Dragon, the Old Serpent, surnamed the Devil and Satan, 
being representative of Sin in its imperial constitution, as manifested 
in the past, present, and future, upon " the Hahitable" or Roman 
territory ; the Man of Sin is that dynasty, " whose coming was after 
the energy of the Adversary with all power, and tokens, and prodigies 
of falsehood, and with all the deceit of iniquity in them that perish,".* 
This is what he Avas in his coming, or presence. The power is styled. 
" the Man of Sin," not because it is to be found in only one man. 
but because it is sin pre-eminently incarnate in an order of men. 
This order occupying one throne, was to " be revealed " out of an 
apostasy from the original apostolic faith ; but before its presence 
could be manifested, a certain obstacle was to " be taken out of the 
way." No order of men such as the apostle describes, could make 
its appearance upon the territory of the Roman Dragon, so lon^' as 
the constitution of the empire continued pagan. This, then, was the 
obstacle to be removed. While it continued, the elements of the new- 
power were at work in the christian body ; but incapable of the exer- 
cise of political authority. These elements are collectively styled 
M the Mystery of Iniquity," the open manifestation of which was 
withheld for a time. When the ** Med," or pagan aspect of the 
Dragon was changed for the " Catholic," by the victories of Con- 
stantine, the opposing power was removed ; in fact, the Adversary, or 
Satan, now a professor of Christianity, took " the Mystery of 
Iniquity" under his patronage; and as he found paganism no longer 
fit for the contest against the apostolic faith, he determined to chancre 
his weapon, and to fight it with the apostasy in the name of Christ. 
Hence, the first thing he did was to impose this apostasy on the 
world as its religion. He married it to the state, and established it 
by law. The National Establishment, as it now became, assumed the 
character of l - Mother Church ;" and the community in Old Rome, 
with its bishop now converted into the chief magistrate of the citv 
at its head, claimed to be tbe mistress of all churches. The apostasy 
being united to Satan, became the open enemy of God, and the worse 
than pagan persecutor of his truth. Its name is Catholic ; and since 
the division of the Dragon territory into east and west, and the great 
schism about image-worship, it is surnamed Greek Catholic, and 

1 Rev xvi. 16 ; Ezek. xxxix. 4. * Ezek. xxxviii. 2. 3 2 Thess. ii. 9, 10. 



94 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

Roman Catholic. The undivided catholic apostasy in its first 
establishment, is represented in the Apocalypse, by "a woman clothed 
with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a 
crown of twelve stars. Vl This woman, after nine months of years, 
or u a set time," and not long before she was clothed with the 
imperial robes, was *' pained to be delivered " of her child, which 
had been conceived in her by sin. As the betrothed of the second 
Adam, the Serpent had beguiled her, and had corrupted her mind 
from the simplicity that is in Christ. Part of her body had embraced 
another Jesus, another Spirit, and another gospel ; 2 by which they 
were so corrupted, that they were prepared to take the sword ; de- 
clare for the first military chieftain, whose anti-pagan ambition of 
supreme power should induce him to embrace their cause ; and to 
turn Christianity into a State Religion. This party found a semi- 
pagan suited to their purpose in Constantine, surnamed " the Great." 
When he avowed himself their champion, all the power of the Old 
Serpent was brought to bear against him and his confederates. They 
fought ; and victory perched upon the standard of the Cross, now 
become " the mark " of the Apostasy. 

Constantine was the man-child of sin, who began that iron-rule, 
which, in the name of Christianity, has soaked the dust of the earth 
with the best and noblest blood of its inhabitants. He set himself 
up as the arbiter of faith, and the correcter of heretics; and though, 
pretending to believe, yet refusing to be immersed till within three 
days of his death, that he might commit all the sins he would be 
likely to do before he was baptized for remission of sins — yet he is 
belauded by ecclesiastics as a great and pious christian ! What Con- 
stantine began, his successors on the Dragon throne, Julian excepted, 
perfected. For the Bishop of Old Rome, they conceived an especial 
veneration and regard ; seeing that he was more of a hypocrite, and as 
much of a serpent as themselves. They energized him with all power, 
and set him up as the supreme pontiff of the world. This god upon earth, 
whom their pagan predecessors knew not, they " honored with gold, 
with silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things." An hum- 
ble bishop of an obscure society in Rome, they acknowledged as a 
god, and increased with glory ; 3 so that " by the energy of Satan 
with all power," the dominion founded by the man-child of the 
apostasy, was matured ; and at length possessed by the Roman bishop 
as the full grown Man of Sin. 

The presence of the man of sin in Rome for upwards of twelve 
centuries past may be determined by Paul's description of him. If 
we find an order of men there, answering to the character recorded 
against them, we may know that the man of sin has been revealed. 
He describes him as one, " who opposes and exalts himself above 
evert/ one called a god, or an object of veneration ; so that he sits in 
the temple of the god as a god, exhibiting himself because he is a 
g r/.'" 4 This in few words is highly descriptive of the Popes. " God " 
in the passage signifies a ruler of whatever kind ; for (i god " in the 
scriptures is applied to angels, magistrates, and the whole nation of 

' Rev, xii. 1. * 2 Cor. xu 2-4. 3 Dan. x\ 88. 39. * 2 Thesa. ii. 4. 



RUDIMENTS OP THE "WORLD 95 

Israel ; as, " I said, ye are gods ; but ye shall die as one of the 
princes ;" and, " worship him ye gods ;" the former being addressed to 
Israel ; the latter, to the angels concerning Jesus. The " temple of 
the god " is St. Peter's at Rome. Now, the history of the papacy 
shows the applicability of the description to the Popes, and to them 
exclusively. They have systematically opposed and exalted them- 
selves above every ruler, whether emperors, or kings, and above all 
bishops and priests ; so that they have sat in St. Peter's as gods, 
exhibiting themselves thus, because they claim to be gods upon earth. 
The incarnate devilism of these blasphemers of God's name, and of 
his people, 1 and murderers of his saints, cannot be surpassed by any 
power that could possibly arise. They are essentially sin corpo- 
realized in human shape; and therefore most emphatically the order 
of the Man of Sin ; as '* the Holy, Apostolic, and Roman Catholic 
Church " is the " Mother of Harlots, and of all the abominations of 
the earth." 

Paul styles this dynastic order 6 avofio^, the Lawless One; and 
because of its destiny, " the Son of Perdition." In the Apocalypse, 
it is represented by an Eighth Head 2 of the Beast, which divides 
" the habitable" with the Dragon. Of this head, the Spirit saith, 
" it goeth to perdition" It is a head, which exercised both civil and 
pontifical dominion over the west; and when resolved into other 
symbols, its conjoint dominion is represented by a Two-horned 
Beast, 3 a?td an image of the sixth head of the Seven-headed Beast ; 3 
the former, symbolizing the Austrian power ; and the latter, his ally, 
the Lawless One. These are both doomed to perdition together. 
Their present intrigues are contributing to kindle a flame in Europe, 
that will convert it into "a lake of fire burning with brimstone."* 
Into thk will the Beast, and the Lawless One, 5 his pseudo-prophet, 
be " can alive." 4. The dominions they represent will be utterly 
destroyed by the lightning and thunderbolts of war ; and their power 
transferer! to the Dragon, the Old Serpent, surnamed the Devil and 
Satan, '»f whom I have already spoken in the last section. The 
binding of the Dragon will terminate the struggle which began in 
1848 8in will then be chained ; and all flesh implicated in main- 
ta'iHPf; is ascendancy, be put to shame before the universe of God. 

• tr.y. /«'. 4, 7; xviii. 2-4. * Rev. xvii. 11. » Rev. xiii. 11, 14, 15. < Rev.xix. 20. » Dan. vitSS; 

2Thess. ii.8. 



96 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 



CHAPTER IV. 

The trial of the Transgressors.— Of the Literal and the Allegorical. — The sentence 
upon the Serpent particularized. — The " Peace and Safety" cry — Jesus came 
not to send peace, but a sword. — The Peace Society the enemy of God.— Cain, 
Abel, and Seth.— Atheism defined— Cain rejected as the progenitor of the 
Woman's Seed, and Seth appointed.— The Antediluvian apostasy. — The Cainites 
and Sethites distinct societies.— Their union the ruin of the old world, of which 
eight sons of Seth only survive.— The Foundation of the World —The sentence 
upon Woman. — Her social position defined. — The sentence upon Adam. — The 
Constitution of Sin.— Of sin as a physical quality of the flesh.— Of the hereditary 
nature of Jesus.— Of " original sin " — Men, sinners in a two-fold sense. — The 
Constitution of Righteousness.— Men become saints by adoption. — The Three 
Witnesses.— The " new birth " explained.— The Two Principles.— Of " the light 
within "-The scripture revelation the divine principle of illumination. — The 
awful condition of " the church." — Of the Hidden Man of the heart. 



In the previous chapter, I have treated of the introduction of sin into 
the world ; its immediate effects upon the transgressor ; and, of some 
of its remoter consequences upon their posterity. We left Adam and 
his companion hid among; the trees of the garden, greatly alarmed at 
the voice of God ; and overwhelmed with shame at the condition to 
which they had reduced themselves. But, though hid, as they sup- 
posed, they soon found the truth of the saying^ that is ^written, that 
" there is not any creature that is not manifest in his sight : but all 
things are naked and open unto the eyes of him with whom we have 
to do." 1 When the Lord God called to Adam, he said, in answer to 
the question, "Where art thou?" "I was afraid, because I was 
naked ; and I hid myself." This was the truth as far as it went ; but 
it was not the whole truth. Fear, shame, and concealment, are 
plainly avowed ; but, why he was ashamed, he was not ingenuous 
enough to confess. The Lord God, however, knowing from the 
mental constitution he had bestowed upon him, that man could not 
be ashamed unless his conscience was defiled by transgression of his 
law in fact or supposition ; directed his next inquiry, so as at once to 
eiicit a confession of the whole truth. " Who told thee," said he, 
" that thou wast naked ?" Did I tell thee, or did any of the Elohim? 
Or, " hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that 
thou shouldest not eat ?" Thou hast no cause to be afraid of me, or 
ashamed of thine appearance as I have formed thee ; unless thou hast 
sinned against me by transgressing my law. Thou hast heard my 
voice, and stood upright and naked in my presence before, and wert 
not ashamed ; what hast thou done ? Why coverest thou thy trans- 
gression by hiding thine iniquity in thy bosom T~ ^ But Adam still 
unwilling to be blamed according to his demerits, in confessing 
reflected upon the Lord God, and turned evidence against Eve. 
" The woman," said he, " whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave 

1 Heb. iv. 13. 9 Job xxxi. 83. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 97 

mo of the tree, and I did eat." As much as to say, if thou hadst 
not put her in my way, and I had been left to myself, I should not 
have done it. It is she who is chiefly to blame ; for she not only eat 
herself, but tempted me. 

The offence being traced to Eve, the Lord Elohim said to her, 
" what is this that thou hast done V But her ingenuousness was no 
more conspicuous than Adam's. She confessed that she had eaten, 
but excused herself on the ground of a deception having been practised 
upon her by the serpent : " the serpent beguiled me," said she, " and 
I did eat." 

There is no evidence that the Serpent either touched the tree, or 
eat of its fruit. Indeed, if it had it would have committed no 
offence ; for the law was not given to him, but to Adam and Eve 
only ; and " where there is no law there is no transgression." Be- 
sides, Paul says, Eve was the first in the transgression. The Lord 
God, therefore, did not interrogate the Serpent as he had the others. 
He had by his clumsy interpretation of what he had seen and heard, 
corrupted Eve's mind from the simplicity of faith, arid obedience to 
the divine law ; but he was incapable of showing upon what moral 
grounds he had called in question its literality. He thought they 
would not surely die ; because he thought they could as well eat of 
the tree of life as of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Ho 
thought nothing of the immorality of the Lord God's solemnly 
declaring a thing, and not performing it. Cognizance of the morality 
of thoughts and actions was beyond the sphere of its mentality. 
With all its superior shrewdness, it was neither responsible, nor able 
to give an account. 

All the evidence in the case being elicited, the Lord God proceeded 
to pass sentence upon the accused in the order of their conviction. 
Being incriminated by Eve, and having, in effect, accused God of 
lying, the Lord began with him, and said, " Because thou hast done 
this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the 
field ; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the 
days of thy life : and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, 
and between thy seed and her seed : He shall bruize thy head, and 
thou shalt bruize his heel" 

This sentence was both literal and allegorical, like the rest of the 
things exhibited in the Mosaic account ; being " representations of 
the knowledge and the truth." 1 For the information of the unlearned 
reader I remark, that to allegorize is to speak in such a way that 
something else is intended than is contained in the words literally 
construed. The historical allegory has a double sense, namely, the 
literal and the figurative ; and the latter is as real, as the former is 
essential to its existence. Thus, the literal serpent was allegorical of 
" sin in the flesh ;" which is therefore figuratively styled the serpent, 
&c.,-as before explained. The literal formation of Eve out of Adam's 
f.ide was allegorical of the formation of the church out of him, of 
whom Adam was the figure ; therefore the church is the figurative 
Eve, and its temptation illustrated by that of the literal one. The 

1 Rom. ii. 20; Heb. viii. 5 ; ix. 9; 23, 24; x. 1 ; Rom. v. 14; Gal. iv. 24. 



98 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

examples of this are almost infinite. That of Abraham, Sarah, and 
Hagar as allegorized by Paul in the text below, is a beautiful illus- 
tration of the relation between the literal and the figurative, as they 
are employed in the scriptures of truth. The discernment of the due 
limit between them is acquired, not by rules, but by much and diligent 
study of the word. 

The literal is the exact construction of the sentence as it reads, and 
is found in strict accordance with their natural habit, and mutual 
antipathy between serpents and mankind. They go upon the belly, 
and lick the dust ; and by the deadly quality of their venom, or sting, 
they are esteemed more hateful than any other creatures. In walking 
with a naked foot one would be bitten in the heel, whose retaliation 
would be instinctively to bruize the reptile's head. This is all per- 
fectly natural ; but what does it suggest ? 

Much that might be said upon the allegorical meaning of this 
passage is already before the reader. I shall add, therefore, by way 
of summary the following particulars : — 

1. The Serpent as the author of sin, is allegorical of " sin in the 
flesh ;" which is therefore called 6 Tro^jpos, " the Wicked One ;" and 
symbolized in its personal and political agency by " the Serpent." 

2. The putting of " enmity" between the Serpent and the woman, 
is allegorical of the establishment of enmity between sin, incorporate 
in the institutions of the world, or the serpent : and the obedience of 
faith, embodied in the congregation of the Lord, which is the woman. 

3. The " seed of the Serpent" is allegorical of those over whom 
sin reigns, as evinced in their obeying it in the lusts thereof. They 
are styled " the servants of sin ;" J or, " the tares." 2 

4. The " seed of the woman" is allegorical of " the children of the 
kingdom,"" or, " servants of righteousness." 1 They are also termed 
" the good seed," 2 who hear and understand the word of the kingdom, 
sown in their hearts as " incorruptible seed." 3 

5. The seed of the Serpent, and the seed of the woman, are phrases 
to be taken in the singular and plural numbers. Plurally, in the 
sense of the fourth particular ; and singularly, of two separate hostile 
personages. 

6. The serpent-bruiser of the heel is the sixth head of the dragon, 
to be crushed at the period of its binding, in the person of the last 
of the Autocrats. 

7. The head-bruiser of the dragon, the old Serpent, surnamed the 
Devil and Satan, is emphatically the seed of the woman, but not of 
the man. 

The allegorical reading of the text founded upon these particulars 
is as follows : " I will put the enmity 4 of that mode of thinking thoi 
hast elicited in Eve and her husband against my law, between tin 
powers that shall be hereafter, in consequence of what thou hast done ; 
and the faithful, and unblemished corporation, I shall constitute : and 
I will put this enmity of the spirit against the flesh, and of the flesh 
against the spirit, 5 between all who obey the lusts of the flesh, which 
thou hast excited ; and those of my institution who shall serve me : 

1 Rom. vi. 12 7, 19 « Matt. xiii. 2? 18. '1 Pet i. 23. «Rom. viii. 7. * Gal. v. 16, 17; iv. 29. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 99 

their chief shall bear away the world's sin 1 which thou hast originated ; 
and shall destroy all the works 2 that have grown out of it : and the 
sin-power 3 shall wound him to death ; but he shall recover it, and 
accomplish the work I now pre-ordain him to do." 

THE PEACE AND SAFETY CRY. 

" There is no peace to the wicked saith God." 

The allegorical signification of the sentence, became the plan of 
" the foundation of the world," under the altered circumstances whiclr 
sin had introduced. It constitutes the earth the arena of a terrible 
strife between two hostile powers ; which was not to terminate until 
his law gained the ascendancy over the sin of the world ; and but one 
sovereign will be obeyed by the sons of men. The enmity he put 
between these parties was not a mere unfriendly verbal disputation, 
but one which reeked of blood. It began with the dispute which 
caused Abel to lose his life, and has continued unto this day. For 
nearly 6000 years has this enmity made the earth a field of blood, 
and yet the war is not ended. The sin-power still lords it over the 
world, and is marshalling its forces for a last decisive blow. The 
" powers that be" have laid low the saints of God in all the countries 
of their dominion ; they have bruised them in the heel ; and are now 
taking up their positions, and preparing themselves to arbitrate their 
relative and future destiny by the sword. They have forgotten, or 
are indifferent to, the enormities of the past. They know not that 
the righteous blood they have shed upon the earth cries loudly for 
vengeance in the ears of God. Truth, justice, and equity, their souls 
hate ; and all that they propose is to destroy the liberty and happiness 
of mankind ; and to make eternal their own vicious and hateful rule. 
But God is as just as he is full of goodness, mercy, and truth. " The 
death of his saints is precious in the sight of the Lord ;" and he will 
not permit them to go unavenged. The " powers that be" can there- 
fore no more perpetually exist, than convicted robbers and murderers 
can escape the punishment due to their crimes. The law of retribution 
to which God has assigned the adjudication of their punishment, 
says, " Give them blood to drink, for they are deserving ; because 
they have shed the blood of saints and prophets :" 4 " Reward them 
even as they have rewarded you, and double unto them double 
according to their works ; in the cup which they have filled fill to 
them double." 5 

But, though the scriptures of truth are so explicit with respect to 
the blasphemous and felonious character of the governments of the 
world ; though they denounce the judgments of war, pestilence, and 
famine upon the nations subject to them ; though they declare that 
the wicked are the Lord's sword to execute his judgments upon one 
another ; though they most emphatically and solemnly aver, that God 
says " there shall be no peace to the wicked ;" 6 and though men see, 
and profess to deplore, the whoredoms and witchcrafts of the Roman 
Jezebel, and the enormities of the cruel tyrants who pour out her 

1 John i. 29. '1 John iii. 8. 3 John xix. 10. « Rev. xvi. 6. 5 Rev. xviii. 6. « Isaiah lvii. 2L 

g2 



100 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

victims' blood like water to uphold her : notwithstanding all this, 
there are multitudes of people who pretend to take the Bible as the 
rule of their faith ; who claim to be " pious," and class themselves 
among the saints of the Lord : I say, men of these pretensions, 
headed by political and spiritual guides, are clamoring for the abolition 
of war, and the settlement of all international differences by arbi- 
tration ! Such persons may be very benevolent, or very covetous ; 
but they are certainly not very wise. Their outcry about " peace" 
evinces their ignorance of the nature of " sinful flesh," and of the 
testimony of God : or, if cognizant of them, their infidelity, and 
shallowness of mind. Before peace can be established in the world, 
6i the enmity" which God has put between good and evil, in word 
and deed, must be abolished. Peace is to be deprecated as a calamity 
by the faithful, so long as the Roman Jezebel and her paramours are 
found among the living. " What peace, so long as her whoredoms 
and witchcrafts are so many V' 1 Will they destroy the divisions 
among powers and people, which God's truth is ever calculated to 
make where it is received in whole or part ? Arbitration indeed ! 
And who are to be the arbitrators ? The popes, cardinals, priests, 
emperors, and kings of the nations ? Can justice, integrity, and good 
faith, proceed from such reprobates ? Do the quakers, and financial, 
or acquisitive, reformers imagine, that a righteous arbitration could 
emanate from them upon any question in which the interest of nations 
as opposed to theirs were concerned ? Really, the conceit of pious 
infidelity is egregiously presumptuous. If this peace-mania be a 
specimen of " the light within" alas ! how great is the darkness of 
that place which professes to be enlightened by it. 

But the most absurd thing imaginable is that the arbitrationists 
profess to advocate peace upon scriptural grounds ! Because one of 
the titles of the Lord is " the Prince of Peace," they argue that war 
is displeasing to God ; and that Jesus came to establish peace as the 
result of preaching. But war is not displeasing to God any more 
than a rod is displeasing to him that uses it for correction. God 
instituted war when he put enmity between the serpent and the woman. 
It is a divine institution for the punishment of the transgressors of his 
law ; and a most beneficent one too : for all the little liberty the 
world enjoys is attributable to the controversy of the tongue, the 
pen, and the sword. What would have been the fate of the thirteen 
trans-atlantic Colonies, if they had been left to the arbitrative justice 
of George the third's contemporaries ? The heel of spiritual tyranny 
backed by the civil power, would have trampled upon them to this 
moment, as it does upon the rights of the quakers here at this day. 
The weak who contend for liberty and truth, have eYerj thing to 
dread from arbitration. With sword in hand, they may extort justice 
from the strong ; but, if under the necessity of expecting it at the 
conscience and tender mercies of " the powers that be," the award 
will be a mockery of justice, and an insult to the sufferings of the 
oppressed. 

Yea, verily, the Lord Jesus is "the Prince of Peace;" and 

1 2 Kings ix. 22. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD, 101 

therefore, no peace society can give peace to the world. It is he 
alone, who can establish " peace on earth and good will among men ;" 
for he only is morally fit, and potentially competent to do it. The peace 
of the arbitrationists is peace based upon the transgression of the 
divine law ; and the hostility of the covenanters to the gospel of the 
kingdom. It is an impure peace ; peace with the serpent power 
reigning over the blood stained earth. Such a peace as this avaunt ! 
Eternal war is better for the world than such a compromise with sin. 
The peace Messiah brings is "first pure" It is a peace the result of 
conquest ; the tranquility which succeeds the bruising of the Serpent's 
head. It is consequent upon the establishment of God's sovereignty 
over the nations, by the hand of him whom he hath prepared to 
" break in pieces the oppressor," 1 and let the oppressed go free. "In 
his days shall the righteous florish ; and abundance of peace so long 
as the moon endures. His enemies shall lick the dust ; all nations 
shall serve him, and call him blessed." 1 Then shall he judge among 
them, and rebuke them, and speak peace to them f " and they shall 
beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning 
hooks : nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall 
they learn war any more." 2 

But the Father did not send Jesus with the idea of bringing about 
this mighty revolution among the nations by preaching the gospel ; 
neither did he propose to effect it in the absence of his Son. When 
he appeared in humiliation he came to take away peace from the 
earth, as both his words and history prove. " Suppose ye that I ant 
come to give peace on earth ? I tell you, nay ; but rather division. 
I am come to send fire upon the earth ; and what I wish (is) that it 
were already kindled." 3 " I came not to send peace, but a sword. 
For I am come to set a man at variance against his nearest and dearest 
relations. So that a man's foes shall be they of his own household." 4 
This is the way the Prince of Peace spoke when on earth. The 
doctrine he taught is distasteful to the natural mind ; and, by the 
purity of its principles, and astonishing nature of its promises, excites 
the enmity and incredulity of the flesh. Loving sin and hating 
righteousness, the carnal mind becomes the enemy and persecutor of 
those who advocate it. The enmity on the part of the faithless is 
inveterate ; and where they have the power, they stir up war even at 
the domestic hearth. If the believer will agree to be silent, or to 
renounce his faith, there will then be " peace and love" such as the 
world, that " loves its own," is able to afford. But the true believers 
are not permitted to make any compromise of the kind. They are 
commanded to ft contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered 
to the saints ;" 5 and so long as they do this, they may lay their 
account with tribulation of various kinds. There is a vast deal of 
this false peace and spurious charity in the protestant world. Men 
have become traitors to Christ, and betray him with their lips. They 
say, " O how we love the Lord !" and where he here they would 
doubtless kiss him ; but, like Judas they have colleagued with his 

' Psalm lxxii. 4, 7, 11, 17 ; Rev. xi. 18. 2 Zech. ix. 10 ; Isaiah ii. 4. 3 Luke xii. 49, 51. 
* Matt. x. 84—36. & Jude 3. 



102 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

enemies, and are as popular with the world as its god can possibly 
desire. 

The truth is, judging from their arguments, the peace-mongers are 
not so man-loving as they pretend. The cry for peace is a piece of 
ventriloquism emanating from the pocket. Their strongest argument 
against war is based upon its cost. The taxes are burdensome because 
of the extravagance and warlike habits of past governments. This 
pinches them in the iron chest ; and diminishes the profits of trade ; 
and curtails the means of indulging the lusts of their flesh, of their 
eyes, and the pride of life. It is well these mammon-worshippers 
should feel the pinch. They are the enemies of God, and oblivious 
of his slaughtered saints ; and, therefore, richly deserving of all the 
punishment the recklessness of " the powers" have entailed upon the 
world. Those who escape the sword and the famine groan under the 
expense of punishing the wiched at their own cost. Thus, the punish- 
ment re-acts upon all classes. I say, these peace-criers are the enemies 
of God ; for with all their profession of piety, they are at peace with 
the world, and in high esteem and friendship with it ; and " whosoever" 
says the scripture, " £9 a, friend of the world is the enemy of God" 
Look at the peace congress at Paris, composed of popish priests, 
dissenting ministers, French politicians, self-illuminati of the quaker 
school, English radicals, American pietists of all colors, rationalists, 
infidels, &c. &c. ; all in such high favor with the libbrticide dynasty 
of France, as to be let into " Egypt and Sodom" 1 without passports, 
or custom-house scrutiny ; and to he feted by one of the state officials 
In what way can the world show its friendship to the peace society 
more palpably ; or the society its reciprocity of feeling with the most 
godless and christless portion of it ? The peace society is the 
world's beloved friend. The world wants peace, that it may find a 
respite from the judgments of God for its iniquity ; and that it may 
enrich itself by commerce, and enjoy itself in all the good tilings of 
life. The society is the world's employee ; its zealous, Utopian, 
missionary ; and therefore, individually and collectively " the enemy 
of God." 

Still, even out of so impious a speculation as this peace society, 
" the wise who understand" 2 may extract encouragement. They 
will discern a providence in the foundation of the quaker sect. This 
unscriptural cry of " peace and safety," emanated from them. They 
have gained wealth in the temple of their god ; and this with their 
friend " the world," is a sufficient guarantee of their worth and 
respectability. Whatever they were in the beginning, matters not ; 
they are now the most popular of all religionists with the masses ; to 
please whom a man must pander to their propensities. All sorts of 
anti-government factions colleague with the quakers in their cry of 
peace ; not because they love peace for its own sake ; but by curtailing 
the resources of the state, and so necessitating the reduction of armies, 
they think they can the *more easily supersede the existing tyrannies 
by a still worse one of their own, as it would doubtless prove. This 
unhallowed coalition proclaims its outcry to be " the rvorld's cry." 

' Kev. xi. 8. » Dan. xii. 10. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 103 

Wc accept it as such. It is the cry of the world, which echoes in 
tones of thunder in the ears of the true believers. It is a cry in the 
providence of God, which is a great " sign of the times •/' announcing 
that " the Lord standeth at the door and knocks," 1 and is about 
quickly and unexpectedly to appear. 2 It is the world's cry, as the 
cry of a woman in travail, which has "been extorted by sudden and 
tormenting pains. It blows a trumpet in the wise and understanding 
ear, sounding the approach of " the day of the Lord as a thief in the 
night ;" for " so it cometh ; and when they shall say, peace and 
safety ; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon 
a woman with child ; and they shall not escape." 3 Such is the divine 
mission of the quakers, and their allies the Cobdenite reformers. Not 
satisfied with crying peace, they cry " safety" likewise. This is a 
peculiar feature of Cobdenism, which urges the disbandment of 
regiments, and the dismantling of ships, on the perverse presumption 
that danger there is none ! Blind leaders of the blind. The groans 
of nations ascending to Heaven on every side ; the kindling embers of 
war smoking in Rome, Vienna, and Constantinople — and yet ye cry 
" peace and safety ;" surely ye are incorrigibly demented, and ripe 
for capture and destruction. 



" If thou doest well shalt thou not be accepted 1" 

The allegorical signification of the sentence upon the Serpent kin- 
dled the first scintillation of hope in the human heart of the appear- 
ance of one, who should deliver the world from all its ills, and 
advance it to a higher state. The promise of such a personage, and 
of such a consummation, was the nucleus of that " faith, Avhich is 
the assured expectation of things hoped for, and the conviction of 
things unseen." 4 The belief, and spiritualizing influence, of this 
hope, became the ground of acceptance with God in the earliest 
times. Faith in this promise was established as the principle of 
classification among the sons of Adam. Belief in what he promises 
is belief in God ; and its influence upon " the fleshly tablet of the 
heart " is most deifying in its effect ; making the subject of it " a 
partaker of the divine natuve" Atheism in its scriptural import is 
not the denial of God's existence. None but a fool would say, 
" there is no God." 3 It is worse than this. It is to believe that he 
exists, and yet to treat him as a liar. To do this, is not to believe 
his promises ; and he that is faithless of these, is " without God/' 
adsos, i. e. an atheist in the world. 6 

In the beginning, this kind of atheism soon manifested itself in the 
family of Adam. Cain, who was conceived in sin, true to his patern- 
ity, was as faithless of God's word as the Serpent ; while Abel 
believed on God. Hence, the apostle says, " By faith Abel offered 
unto God more sacrifice (ttXeiovol Qwiav) than Cain, by which he obtained 
witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts : and by it 

I Rev. iii. 20. 3 Rev. xvi. ; xxii. 7, 20. 3 1 Thess. v. 1—8. 4 Heb. xi. 1. 5 Psalm xir. 1. 
6 Eph. ii. 12. 



104 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

he being dead yet speaketh." 1 This is an important intimation, im- 
porting that no religious services are acceptable to God, which are 
not predicated on the bt lief of his promises ; " for without faith it is 
impossible to please God." 2 This was, therefore, the ground of 
Cain's reprobation. " The Lord had respect unto Abel and to his 
offering : but unto Cain and -his offering he had not respect." This 
made Cain fierce and sullen. He refused to " bring of the firstlings 
of the flock, and of the fat thereof." He did not believe in its 
necessity, having no faith in the remission of sins by the shedding of 
sacrificial blood ; 3 nor in the fulfilment of God's promise concerning 
him, who, being " bruised in the heel," or slain as Abel's accepted 
lamb, should arise, and " bruise the Serpent's head," in destroying 
the works of sin 4 This is what Cain did not believe ; and his faith- 
lessness expressed itself in neglecting to walk in " the way of the 
Lord." Nevertheless, he continued " a professor of religion ;" for 
" he brought of the fruit of the ground an offering to the Lord." 
But the Lord paid no respect to him or his offering ; because, in 
neglecting the sacrifice, he had set up his judgment against God ; 
and in being faithless had in effect treated God as a liar ; for, saith 
the scripture, " he that believeth not God hath made him a liar." 5 

But Cain's sullen anger against God could only wound himself. 
His refusal to obey him could not injure the Most High. He 
insulted God with his " will-worship and voluntary humility," 6 and 
convicted himself as an evil-doer. Self-condemned and impotent, he 
vented his rage against his brother, whom God respected and had 
accepted. He was wroth against him ; " because his own works 
were evil, and his brother's righteous."'' He was now a murderer in 
principle ; 7 and with this fratricidal feeling rankling in his heart, 
brought his gift to the altar. 8 But God, who " discerns the thoughts 
and intents of the heart," 9 called him to account for his lowering 
aspect, and anger against his brother, and said, " If thou doest well, 
shalt thou not be accepted ? And if thou doest not well, a sin- 
offering lieth at the door. And his hope shall be towards thee, and 
thou shalt rule over him," or have the excellency as the first-born 
and progenitor of the Seed. But Cain was a genuine " seed of the 
Serpent." The thinking of the flesh called by Adam the Serpent, 
was strong within him. " He talked with Abel," who, doubtless, 
pleaded for the things repudiated by Cain. But Cain's reasonings 
were perverse ; well-doing was not at all to his taste; so that, having 
no faith in the promise, he preferred to follow his own waywardness ; 
and being determined to rid himself of his brother's expostulations, 
he mingled his blood with the dust of the ground. 

Thus was slain by a brother's hand the protomartyr of the faith. 
A righteous man, respected and beloved of God. His only offence 
was, that, in believing the promises of God and doing well, his 
brother was reproved. The fleshly mind hates righteousness, and 
those who practice it ; so that between the two parties the truth and 
righteousness of God 10 lie as an apple of discord. Abel was the first 

• Heb. xi. 8. ' Heb. xi. 6. 3 Heb. >*. 22 ; x. 4—14. < 1 John iii. 8. » 1 John v. 10. <= Col. ii. 18, 23. 
M John iii. 12, 15. » Matt. v. 22— 24. 9 Heb. iv. 12. "Matt. vi. 83 ; Rom i. 16, 17; iii. 21, 

22, 25, 26. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 105 

of Eve's sons of whom honorable mention is made on account of 
" the obedience of faith/' 1 As Cain was of the evil one by trans- 
gression ; so Abel was of God by the obedience of faith, which 
evinced that " God's seed remained in him." Hence, though both 
of them were born of Eve according to the flesh, their spiritual 
paternity was as opposite as light and darkness. Cain was a man of 
Sin ; and Abel, an accepted son of God. In these characters, they 
stood at the head of two divisions of their father's family ; and 
proximately represented the seed of the Serpent, and the seed of the 
Woman. Cain bruised his brother's heel ; but God appointed a 
substitute for Abel in the person of Seth 5 by whom Cain's headship 
was bruised, and his posterity superseded in the earth. Eve, says 
Moses, " bare a son, and called his name Seth : for, said she, God 
hath appointed me another seed instead of At>°!, ^rhom Cain slew." 
She had many other sons, but none of them are mentioned except 
Cain, Abel, and Seth. When, therefore, we are informed, that Seth 
was " appointed instead of Abel," and trace the posterity of Seth 
terminating through a certain line in Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of 
God ; we are taught, that Cain lost his excellency by sin, and was 
therefore set aside ; and Abel provisionally appointed to be the pro- 
genitor of the seed, who is to bruise the Serpent's headship over the 
world. But, Abel having been bruised in the heel, it became neces- 
sary, in order to carry out the divine purpose, and to answer allegori- 
cally the indications of the sentence upon the Serpent, to appoint 
another son of Eve in the place of Abel. According to this arrange- 
ment, Abel became the type of Jesus, wounded in the heel ; but 
whose sprinkled blood speaks better things than Abel's, 3 which cried 
only for vengeance : while Seth typifies him in his re-appearance 
among the sons of men to bruise sin under foot ; and to exterminate 
in the course of his reign, the Serpent's seed from the face of the 
earth. 

Notwithstanding his crime Cain was permitted to live. But the 
seed of evil-doers never gets renown. Sooner or later their deeds of 
villany consign their names to reprobation. God hid his face from 
Cain, and exiled him from the settlements in Eden. He wandered 
still further to the East, " and dwelt in the land of Nod." There he 
founded a city, and called it Enoch. His offspring multiplied, and 
found out many inventions. They became wandering tribes, dwelling 
in tents and tending cattle ; others of them, musicians ; and artificers 
in brass and iron. Their women were beautiful, and as the descend- 
ants of Cain, untrained in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, 
were vain in their imaginations, and demoralizing in their associa- 
tions. 

Seth's descendants in the direct line ended in Noah and Japheth at 
the time of the flood. His posterity, in this and the collateral 
branches, multiplied considerably ; but for a time constituted a sepa- 
rate community from the progeny of Cain. During; the lifetime of 
Enos, son of Seth, M they began to call themselves by the name of 
the Lord," 3 or " sons of God :" 3 while the faithless, and corrupt 
worshippers, of the land of Nod, were simply styled " men." 

' Rom. xvi. 25, 26 ; i. 5. -i Heb. xii 24, 3 Gen. i v. 2G ; vi. 2. 



106 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 



THE ANTEDILUVIAN APOSTASY. 



The Sorbites and the Cainites stood related to one another as the 
church of God and the world ; or, as the woman and the serpent. 
So long as the sons of God maintained their integrity, and walked in 
" the way of the Tree of Life" the two communities had no religious 
association, or family intercourse. The time, however, arrived when 
the middle wall of partition was about to be laid low by a general 
apostasy. A spirit of liberalism had arisen among the sons and 
daughters of Seth, the result of an expiring faith, which predisposed 
them to a fraternity, or mixed communion, with the Cainites ; who, 
like their father, were religionists of a wilful stamp. The Serpent's 
seed enjoyed themselves in those days as they do now. They were 
men of the flesh, grovelling in their tastes, habits, and pursuits ; and 
devoted to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of 
life. Their religion sanctified what pleased them best ; and doubtless 
afforded a fair specimen of the same sort of thing in all subsequent 
ages. It is probable, that the precepts and example of the sons of 
God had considerably modified the original impiety of the Cainites, 
so as to bring things to a similar state as that observable in our day. 
Sects, between whom there were no more dealings in their beginning 
than between the Jews and the Samaritans, are now so liberal, that 
they agree to be silent upon all controversial topics for which they 
once contended to the death, and to recognize one another as brethren 
in the Lord ! Thus, if they ever had the truth, they have suppressed 
it by a tacit compromise; and have become highly respectable, and 
singularly amiable and polite; so that they " have need of nothing/' 
but to enjoy the good things of the world within their reach. 

The serpents hud become so harmless, and even pious, under the 
influence abroad, and were withal so fair to look upon, and so en- 
chanting in their ways ; that the Sethites took them into their bosoms, 
and cherished them with the affection of their own flesh. *' They 
saw," says Moses, '-' that the daughters of men were fair; and they 
took wives of all they chose.' , This was a fatal step. Can a man 
take fire into his bosom, and not be burned? The sons of God cor- 
rupted themselves in marrying the daughters of Cain. Instead of 
bringing them over to " the Way of the Tree of Life" they were 
beguiled into " the Way of Cain" 1 For sons of God to marry 
daughters of Belial is to jeopardize their fidelity to God. This 
practice has ever been fruitful of apostasy. Balaam was well aware 
of this ; and knowing that the only way to bring a curse upon Israel 
was to involve them in transgression ; he therefore taught Balak, 
the King of Moab, to tempt them with the fair daughters of his 
people, as the readiest way of beguiling them into the worship of 
their idols ; which would cause God to hate them, and so facilitate 
their conquest by the Moabites. The policy succeeded but too well 
for the honor and happiness of Israel. Moses says, "they began to 
commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab.' 1 The consequence 
of this licentiousness was that the women invited Israel unto tke 



Jude 11. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 107 

sacrifices of their gods : and they did eat, and bowed down to them. 
And Israel joined himself unto Baal Peor. 1 And the anger of the 
Lord was kindled against them ; so that he slew four and twenty- 
thousand of them. 

After the same example, the union of the Sethites and Cainites 
was productive of the worst results. The offspring of this union 
were "mighty men of renown," whose wickedness "was great in 
the earth ;" for "every imagination of the thoughts of their hearts 
was only evil continually." 2 Their apostasy, however, was not per- 
fected without remonstrance on the part of God. There was one 
eminent man of whom it is testified, that " he pleased God." He 
" walked with God " in the way of the Tree of Life, for three hun- 
dred years after the birth of Methuselah. His name is Enoch. The 
spirit of prophecy was in him ; and the gigantic wickedness of the 
Antediluvians aroused him to reprove their iniquity. Animated by 
the hope of the promise concerning the woman's seed, he prophe- 
sied of the serpents of his own and future time, saying, " Behold, the 
Lord cometh with myriads of his saints, to dispense justice towards 
all, and to convict all that are ungodly among them of their ungodly 
deeds which they have impiously committed; and of all their hard 
speeches, which ungodly sinners have spoken against him." 3 But, 
his expostulation was unheeded; and God graciously "translated 
him that he should not see death;" 4 thus rewarding him for his con- 
stancy, and giving the faithful a notable illustration, and earnest, of 
" the recompense of the reward ;" and of the certainty of the punish- 
ment of the world. 

Things went on from bad to worse ; " for all flesh had corrupted 
1 H is Way' upon the earth;" "and the earth was filled with 
violence." Before, however, things had come to the worst, the Lord 
made another effort to reclaim the Antediluvians. He had resolved 
to put an end to the wickedness of man upon the earth; for, said he, 
" My Spirit shall not always strive with him, because he is but 
flesh." 5 This intimates a limit to his forbearance ; that it should 
have an end, but not immediately; for it is added, "yet his days 
shall be a hundred and twenty years." 

Four hundred and eighty years before the announcement of this 
determination a son was born to Lamech, the grandson of Enoch, 
whom he named Noah; that is, comfort, saying, "this same shall 
comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of 
the ground which the Lord hath cursed." This was the hope of 
those who remained faithful of the sons of Seth. They labored in 
hope of a translation into a rest from their labors, when the curse 
should be removed from the earth. 6 In process of time, Noah was 
"warned of God of things not seen as yet." Noah believed them; 
and " God, by his spirit " in him, " went and preached to the spirits 
('now) in prison," 7 that is, to the Antediluvians, " who were disobe- 
dient in the days of Noah." He warned them of the coming flood, 
which would "destroy them from the earth ;" and proved to them 

' Numb. xxv. 1, 2. 3 Gen. vi. 1—5. 3 j u d e 14, 15. « Heb. xi. 5, 26. * Psalm Ixxviii. 39. 
«- Rev. xxii. 3. ? 1 Pet. iii. 19. 



108 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

his own conviction of its certainty by " preparing an ark for the 
safety of his own house ; by the which he condemned the world, 
and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith." 1 But, his 
faith thus made perfect by his works, made no salutary impression 
upon his contemporaries, " They were eating and drinking, marry- 
ing and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the 
ark, and knew not till the flood came, and took them all away;" 2 
leaving only eight persons of the sons of Seth alive. 

Thus, was the mingled seed of Seth and Cain exterminated from 
the earth. Cain's race became utterly extinct, and those only of 
Seth remained, who were upright in their generations, and who 
walked with God. The distinction of seeds was temporarily sus- 
pended. The generation of vipers was extinct ; but sin in the flesh 
survived — a principle, destined in after times to produce the most 
hideous and terrible results. 



THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD. 
** Inherit the Kingdom which shall have been prepared from the Foundation of the World." 

As the woman had so wilfully sought the gratification of her flesh, 
when the Lord God passed sentence upon her he made it the ground 
of her punishment. " I will/' said he, " greatly multiply thy sorrow 
and thy conception ; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children : and 
thy desire shall be subject to thy husband, and he shall rule over 
thee." This being her portion as the consequence of sin, the reverse 
would have been her condition, so long as her animal nature should 
have continued unchanged, if she had remained obedient. She would 
have brought forth children without pain, and would have had fewer 
of them ; nor would she have been deprived of that equality she 
enjoyed in the garden, and consequently she would have escaped that 
degradation she has experienced in all the countries of the world. 
The punishment, however, was not inflicted simply as an individual 
sorrow. The pain was personal, and the subjection likewise ; but the 
multiplication of woman's conception became necessary from the 
altered circumstances of things ; which were then being constituted 
for the ensuing seven thousand years. In the war divinely instituted 
between the seeds of the Serpent and the Woman, there would be a 
great loss of life. The population of the world would be greatly 
thinned ; besides which great havoc would be made by pestilence, 
famine, and the ordinary diseases of the flesh. To compensate this 
waste, and still to maintain an increase, so that the earth might be 
filled, necessitated that part of woman's punishment involved in the 
multiplication of the conception, which is a great domestic calamity 
under the Serpent-dominion of sin. 

We hear much in some parts of the world of the political lights 
arid equality of women with men ; and of their preaching and teach- 
ing in public assemblies. We need wonder at nothing which emanates 
from the unenlightened thinking of sinful flesh. There is no absur- 
dity too monstrous to be sanctified by unspi ritualized animal intellect. 

• Heb. xi. 7. » Matt. xxiv. 38, 39. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 109 

Men do not think according to God's thinking, and therefore it is > 
they run into the most unseriptural conceits ; among which may be 
enumerated the political and social equality of women. Trained to 
usefulness, of cultivated intellect, and with moral sentiments purified 
and ennobled by the nurture and admonition of the Lord's truth, 
women are % helps meet " for the Elohim ; and much too good for 
men of ordinary stamp. The sex is susceptible of this exaltation; 
though I despair of witnessing it in many instances till u the Age to 
come." But, even women of this excellency of mind and disposi- 
tion, were it possible for such to do so, would be guilty of indiscre- 
tion, presumption, and rebellion against God's law, in assuming 
equality of rank, equality of rights, and authority over man, which 
is implied in teaching and preaching. It is the old ambition of the 
sex to be equal to the gods ; but in taking steps to attain it, they 
involved themselves in subjection to men. Preaching, and lecturing, 
women, are but species of actresses, who exhibit upon the boards for 
the amusement of sinful and foolish men. They aim at an equality 
for which they are not physically constituted ; they degrade them- 
selves by the exhibition, and in proportion as they rise in assurance, 
they sink in all that really adorns a woman. 

The law, which forms a part of the foundation of the world, says 
to the woman, " He shall reign over thee." The nature of this sub- 
jection is well exhibited in the Mosaic law. 1 A daughter being yet 
in her youth in her father's house, could only make a vow subject to 
his will. If he held his peace, and said nothing for or against, she 
was bound by her word ; but if when he heard it, he disallowed it, 
she was not bound to perform ; and the Lord forgave the failure of 
the vow. The same law applied to a wife. A widow, or divorced 
woman, were both bound to fulfil ; unless their husbands had made 
them void before separation. If not, being subject to God, they 
had no release. This throws light upon the apostle's instructions 
concerning women. " They are commanded to be under obedience, 
as also saith the law." And " let the woman learn in silence with 
all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp 
authority over the man, but to be in silence." The reason he gives 
for imposing silence and subjection, is remarkable. He adduces the 
priority of Adam's formation ; and the unhappy consequences of 
Eve's talkativeness and leadership in transgression ; as it is written, 
" Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, 
but the woman being deceived was in the transgression" 2 first. And 
then, as to their public ministrations, he says, " Let women keep 
silence in the congregations ; for it is not permitted unto them to 
speak; but to be under obedience, as saith the law. And if they 
will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home : for it is a 
shame for women to speak in the congregation." 3 It is true, that in 
another place the apostle says, " let the aged women be teachers of 
good things ;" but then this teaching is not to be in the congregation, 
or in the brazen attitude of a public oratrix. They are to exercise 
their gift of teaching privately among their own sex, " that they may 

1 Numb. xxx. 3.15. 2 1 Tim. ii. 11-14. 3 1 Cor. xir. 34, 35. 



110 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love 
their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient 
to their own husbands, that the word of God (which they profess) be 
not blasphemed." 1 Christian women should not copy after the god- 
aspiring Eve, but after Sarah, the faithful mother of Israel, who 
submitted herself in all things to Abraham, " calling him lord." 2 
Nor should their obedience be restricted to christian husbands only. 
They should also obey them " without the word;" that is, those who 
have not submitted to it, in order that they may be won over to the 
faith when they behold the chaste and respectful behavior of their 
wives, produced by a belief of the truth. 3 

Such are the statutory provisions enacted in the world's constitution 
at the beginning, with respect to the position of women in the body 
social, and political. Any attempt to alter the arrangement, i"s 
rebellion against God, and usurpation of the rights of men to whom 
God has subjected them. Their wisdom is to be quiet ; and to make 
their influence felt by their excellent qualities. They will then rule 
in the hearts of their rulers, and so ameliorate their own subjection 
as to convert it into a desirable and sovereign obedience. 

A man should never permit the words of a woman to intervene 
between him and the laws of God. This is a rock upon which 
myriads have made shipwreck of the faith. Adam sinned in conse- 
quence of listening to Eve's silvery discourse. No temptation has 
proved more irresistible to the flesh than the enticing words of 
woman's lips. " They drop as a honeycomb, and her mouth is 
smoother than oil : but her end is bitter as wormwood, and sharp as 
a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death ; and her steps take 
hold on hell." 4 Adam was a striking illustration of this truth, as 
appears from the sentence pronounced upon him. " Because," said 
the Lord God, " thou hast hearkened to the voice of thy wife, and 
hast eaten of the Tree of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou 
shalt not eat of it : cursed is the ground for thy sake : in sorrow 
shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life ; thorns also and thistles 
shall it bring forth to thee ; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field : 
in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto 
the ground ; for out of it wast thou taken : for dust thou art, and 
unto dust shalt thou return." Thus, having passed sentence upon the 
serpent, the woman, and the man, the Lord appointed them a new 
law, and expelled them from the garden he had made. 

These three sentences, and the New Law, constitute the foundation 
of the world. This is a phrase which occurs in various passages of 
the Bible. It occupies a prominent place in the following text : 
" then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come ye 
blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the 
foundation of the world." 5 The words in the Greek are a-n-o Kai-aftoX^ 
noafxov, which, more literally rendered, signify, from laying the n-orld's 
foundation. The globe is the platform ; the world that which is 
constituted, or built, upon it ; and the Builder is God ; for, " he 
that built all things is God." 6 Now the world was not built out of 

« lit. ii. 4,5. 3 Gen. xviii. 12. 3 1 Pet. ii. 1— 6. * Trov. v. 3- 5. « Matt xxv. 34 « Heb. 18. 4. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. Ill 

nothing. The materials had been prepared by the work of the six 
days ; and by the moral phenomena of the fall. At this crisis, there 
appeared a natural system of things, with two transgressors, in whom 
sin had enthroned itself; and who were endued with the power of 
multiplying such as themselves to an unlimited extent. This popu- 
lation, then, was either to act for itself under the uncontrolled 
dominion of sin ; or, things must be so constituted as to bring it into 
order and subjection to the sovereignty of God. The result of the 
former alternative would have been to barbarize mankind, and to fill 
the earth with violence. This is demonstrated by what actually 
occurred before the flood when the divine constitution of things was 
corrupted and abolished by the world. Man when left to himself 
never improves. God made man upright ; but look at the wretched 
specimens of humanity, which are presented in those regions where 
God has left them to their natural tendency, under the impulse of 
their uncontrolled propensities. Man thus abandoned of God, 
degenerates into an ignorant savage, ferocious as the beasts of 
prey. 

If the Lord God had renounced all interest in the earth this would 
have been the consummation of his work. Man by his vices would 
have destroyed his own race. But, though transgression upon trans- 
gression marked his career, " God so loved the world," x that he 
determined it should not perish, but should be rescued from evil in 
spite of itself. This he purposed to do in such a way as to make 
man reflect the divine nature in his character ; and to display his own 
wisdom, glory, and power, in the earth. But chance could not bring 
this to pass. Human life, therefore, was not to be a mere chapter of 
accidents; but the result of a well-digested and unvarying plan. 
Things, then, were to be arranged according to this purpose ; so that 
in their original constitution should be contained the rudiments of a 
" glorious manifestation ;" which, as a grain of mustard seed, should 
so unfold themselves under the fostering hand of God, as to become 
" a tree, which is the greatest among herbs," 2 in whose branches the 
family of man might be refreshed. 

In the acorn, it is said, can be traced by aid of the microscope, the 
branches of the future oak. So in " the Rudiments of the World " 
are traceable the things of the future Kingdom of God. These 
rudiments, or elements, are exhibited in the sentences upon the ser- 
pent, the woman, and the man ; and in that institution styled, " the 
Way of the Tree of Life." Out of these things were afterwards to 
arise the Kingdom of God ; so that in constituting them, a founda- 
tion was laid upon which "the world to come" should be built; 
even that world of which Abraham was constituted the heir ; 3 and 
which, when finished at the end of six days of a thousand years 
each, will manifest the woman's Seed triumphant over the Serpent- 
power ; resting from his work 4 in the Sabbatism which remains for 
the people of God. 4 

The things laid, or fixed, in the rudimental constitution of the 
wirld, may be summarily stated in the following particulars : — 

' John iii. 16. 2 Mat^xii 3L 32. 3 R om . i T . 13. 4 Heb. iv. 3, 8, 9, 11. 



112 RUDIMENTS OF TH* WORLD. 

1. Sin in the flesh, the enemy of God, contending for the domin 
of the world. 

2. Mankind in a state of nature, sublet to the propensities ; and 
to pain, trouble, and death. 

3. Labor and toil the condition of existence in the present state. 

4. The subjection of woman to the lordship of man. 

To these things was established a divine antagonism, by which 
they might be controlled ; and a system of things elaborated in con- 
formity with the purpose of God. This part of the foundation may 
be stated as, 

1. The law and -truth of God as expressed in " his Way," demanding 
unreserved submission to its authority. 

2. Mankind under the influence of this truth assuredly believed, 
contending for it. 

3. Divine power exhibited in the punishment of men, and in the 
performance of his promises. 

The action and re-action of these agencies upon one another was to 
produce, 

1. An enmity and war in the earth between the Sin-power and the 
Institution opposed to it. 

2. A bloody persecution of the adherents of the truth. 

3. The destruction of the Sin-power by a personage to be mani- 
fested for the purpose ; and 

4. The consequent victory of divine truth, and establishment of 
the Kingdom of God. 

That the crisis of the fall was the period of laying the foundation 
of the world, in its civil, social, and spiritual relations, appears from 
the use of the phrase in the apostolic writings. The Lord Jesus, 
speaking of what was about to come upon the generation then living 
in Judea, said, " the blood of all the prophets shed from the founda- 
tion of the world shall be required of this generation ;" and to show 
to what period of the world he referred, he added by way of explan- 
ation, " from the blood of Abel," * the prophet of his day. The 
phrase is also applied by the apostle to the work of the six days, e 
that is, as the basis, or substratum, in or upon which, the social and 
political system was constituted. There is further proof of the 
judgment of the transgressors being the institutional foundation of the 
world, in the words, " all that dwell upon the earth shall do homage 
to him," the ten-horned papal Beast, " whose names are not written 
in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the laying of the 
world? s foundation ." * By this is signified, that, when the Lord God 
appointed coats of skins to cover the man and woman's shame, 
Lambs were slain, which they were taught to understand were repre- 
sentative of the Seed, who should be slain for the sins of all the 
faithful ; and with whose righteousness they should be clothed, after 
the type of their covering by the skins of their sacrifices. Thus, 
from the institution of sacrifice in Paradise till the death of Jesus on 
the cross, he was typically slain ; and the accepted worshippers, 
being full of faith in the divine promise like Abel and Enoch, under- 

l Luke xi. 50, 51. * Heb. ir. 8, 4. 3 R eT . xiii. 8. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 113 

stood to what the slaughtered lambs referred. Their names were 
consequently written in the remembrance of God, 1 as inheritors of 
the kingdom ; whose foundation was commenced- jin Paradise, and 
has been preparing ever since, that when finished it may be mani- 
fested " in Eden the garden of the Lord." 

THE CONSTITUTION OF SIN. 

" The creature was made subject to evil, not willingly, but by the arranging in hope." 

The introduction of sin into the world necessitated the constitution 
of things as they were laid in the beginning. If there had been no 
sin there would have been no " enmity " between God and man ; 
and consequently no antagonism bv which to educe good out of evil. 
Sin and evil are as cause and effect. God is the author of evil, but 
not of sin ; for the evil is the punishment of sin. " I form the light, 
and create darkness : I make peace, and create evil : I the Lord do 
all these things." 2 " Shall there be evil in a city and the Lord hath 
not done it ?" 3 The evil then to which man is subjected is the 
Lord's doing. War, famine*, pestilence, flood, earthquake, disease, 
and death, are the terrible evils which God inflicts upon mankind for 
their transgressions. Nations cannot go to war when they please, 
any more than they can shake the earth at their will and pleasure ; 
neither can they preserve peace, when he proclaims war. Evil is the 
artillery with which he combats the enemies of his law, and of his 
saints ; consequently, there will be neither peace nor blessedness for 
the nations, until sin is put down, his people avenged, and truth and 
righteousness be established in the earth. 

This is the constituted order of things. It is the constitution of 
the world ; and as the world is sin's dominion, or the kingdom 
of the adversary, it is the constitution of the* kingdom of sin. 

The word sin is used in two principal acceptations in the scripture. 
It signifies in the first place, " the transgression of law;" and in the 
next, it represents that physical principle of the animal nature, which 
is the cause of all its diseases, death, and resolution into dust. It is 
that in the flesh "which has the power of death;" and it is called 
sin, because the developement, or fixation, of this evil in the flesh, 
was the result of transgression. Inasmuch as this evil principle per- 
vades every part of the flesh, the animal nature is styled " sinful 
flesh," that is, flesh full of sin ; so that sin, in the sacred style, came 
to stand for the substance called man. In human flesh " dwells no 
good thing ;" 4 and all the evil a man does is the result of this prin- 
ciple dwelling in him. 4 Operating upon the brain, it excites the 
" propensities," and these set the " intellect " and " sentiments •' to 
work. The propensities are blind, and so are the intellect and senti- 
ments in a purely natural state ; when, therefore, the latter operate 
under the sole impulse of the propensities, " the understanding is 
darkened through ignorance, because of the blindness of the heart." 5 
The nature of the lower animals is as full of this physical evil prin- 

' Mai. iii. 16 ; Rev. xvii. 8 ; xx. 12 ; xxi. 27. 2 i sa iah xlv. 7. 3 Amos iii. 6. 4 Rom. vii. IS, 17. .. 

« Eph. iv. 18. 

H 



114 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

ciple as the nature of man ; though it cannot be styled sin with, the 
same expressiveness ; because it does not possess them as the result 
of their own transgression ; the name, however, does not alter the 
nature of the thing. 

A defective piece of mechanism cannot do good work. The 
principle must be perfect, and the adaptation true, for the working to 
be faultless. Man in his physical constitution is imperfect ; and this 
imperfection is traceable to the physical organization of his flesh, 
being based on the principle of decay and reproduction from the 
blood ; which, acted upon by the air, becomes the life of his flesh. 
All the phenomena which pertain to this arrangement of things 
is summed up m the simple word sin ; which is, therefore, not an 
individual abstraction, but a concretion of relations in all animal 
bodies ; and the source of all their physical infirmities. Now, the 
apostle says, that the flesh thinks — to <t>povr\fxa t»js aapnos— that is, the 
brain, as all who think are well assured from their own consciousness. 
If then this thinking organ be commanded not to do what it is 
natural for it to do under blind impulse, will it not naturally disobey ? 
Now this disobedience is wrong, because 'what God commands to be 
done is right, and only right ; so that " by his law is the knowledge 
of sin ;" and this law, requiring an obedience which is not natural, 
flesh is sure to think in opposition to it. This is the philosophy of 
superstition— religion in harmony with the thinking of the flesh : 
while true religion is religion in accordance with the thoughts of God 
as expressed in his law. Hence, it need excite no astonishment that 
religion and superstition are so hostile ; and that all the world should 
uphold the latter ; while so few are to be found who are identified 
with the religion of God. They are as opposite as flesh and spirit. 

Sin, I say, is a synonym for human nature. Hence, the flesh is 
invariably regarded as unclean. It is therefore written, " How can he 
be clean who is born of a woman ?" 1 " Who can bring a clean thing 
out of an unclean ? Not one." 2 " What is man that he should be 
clean ? And he which is born of a woman that he should be 
righteous ? Behold, God putteth no trust in his saints ; yea, the 
heavens are not clean in his sight. How much more abominable and 
filthy is man, who drinketh iniquity like water ?" 3 This view of sin 
in the flesh is enlightening in the things concerning Jesus. The 
apostle says, " God made him sin for us, who knew no sin ;" 4 and 
this he explains in another place by saying, that " he sent his own 
Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the 
flesh 5 in the offering of his body once. 6 Sin could not have been 
condemned in the body of Jesus, if it had not existed there. His 
tody was as unclean as the bodies of those he died for ; for he was 
Iborn of a woman, and " not one " can bring a clean body out of a 
-defiled body ; for " that," says Jesus himself, " which is born of the 
flesh is flesh." 7 

According to this physical law, the Seed of the woman was born 
into the world. The nature of Mary was as unclean as that of other 

i Job xxv. 4. 3 Job xiv. 4. » Job xv. 14—16. * 2 Cor. y. 21. * Rom. viii. S. « Htb. x. 10, 12, 14. 

i John iii. fi. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 115 

women ; and therefore could give birth only to " a body " like her 
own, though especially "prepared of God." 1 Had Mary's nature 
been immaculate, as her idolatrous worshippers contend, an immacu- 
late body would have been born of her ; which, therefore, would not 
have answered the purpose of God ; which was to condemn sin in 
the flesh j a thing that could not have been accomplished, if there 
were no sin there. 

Speaking of the conception and preparation of the Seed, the pro- 
phet as a typical person, says, " Behold, I was shapen in iniquity ; 
and in sin did my mother conceive me." 2 This is nothing more than 
affirming, that he was born of sinful flesh ; and not of the pure and 
incorruptible angelic nature. 

Sinful flesh being the hereditary nature of the Lord Jesus, he was 
a fit and proper sacrifice for sin ; especially as he was himself "inno- 
cent of the great transgression," having been obedient in all things. 
Appearing in the nature of the seed of Abraham, 3 he was subject to 
all the emotions by which we are troubled ; so that he was enabled to 
sympathize with our infirmities, 4 being " made in all things like unto 
his brethren." But, when he was " born of the spirit " in the 
quickening of his mortal body by the spirit, 5 he became a spirit ; for 
" that which is born of the spirit is spirit." Hence, he is " the Lord 
the Spirit," incorruptible flesh and bones. 

Sin in the flesh is hereditary ; and entailed upon mankind as the 
consequence of Adam's violation of the Eden law. The " original 
sin " was such as I have shown in previous pages. Adam and Eve 
committed it j and their posterity are suffering the consequence of it. 
The tribe of Levi paid tithes to Melchisedec many years before Levi 
l^as born. The apostle says, " Levi, who receiveth tithes, payed 
tithes in Abraham." Upon the same federal principle, all mankind 
ate of the forbidden fruit, being in the loins of Adam when he 
transgressed. This is the only way men can by any possibility be 
guilty of the original sin. Because they sinned in Adam, therefore 
they return to the dust from which Adam came — ?</>' w, says the 
apostle, " in whom all sinned." There is much foolishness spoken 
and written about " original sin." Infants are made the subjects of a 
religious ceremony to regenerate them because of original sin ; on 
account of which, according to Geneva philosophy, they are liable to 
the flames of hell for ever ! If original sin, which is in fact sin in 
the flesh, were neutralized, then ad " baptismally regenerated " babes 
ought to live for ever, as Adam would have done had he eaten of the 
Tree of Life after he had sinned. But they die; which is a proof 
that the " regeneration " does not " cure their souls ;" and is, there- 
fore, mere theological quackery. 

Mankind being born of the flesh, and of the will of man, are born 
into the world under the constitution of sin. That is, they are the 
natural born citizens of Satan's kingdom. By their fleshly birth, 
they are entitled to all that sin can impart to them. What creates 
the distinction of bodies politic among the sons of Adam ? It is con- 
stitution, or covenant. By constitution, then, one man is English,, 

' Heb. x. 10, 12, 14. * Psalm li. 5. 3 Heb. ii 16—18. * Heb. iv. 15. * Rom. viii. 11. 

h2 



116 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

and another American. The former, is British because he is born of 
the flesh under the British constitution. In this case, he is worthy of 
neither praise nor blame. He was made subject to the constitution, 
not willingly ; but by reason of them, who chose that he should be 
born under it. But, when he comes of age, the same man may 
become an American. He may put off the old man of the political 
flesh, and put on the new man, which is created by the constitution 
of the United States ; so that by constitution, he becomes an American 
in every particular, but the acciden-. of birth. This will be exact 
enough to illustrate what I am about to say 

There are two states, or kingdoms, in God's arrangements, which 
are distinguished by constitution. These are the kingdom of Satan 
and the kingdom of God. The citizens of the former are all sinners; 
the heirs of the latter are saints. Men cannot be born heirs by the 
will of the flesh; for natural birth confers no right to God's kingdom. 
Men must be born sinners before they can become saints; even as one 
must be born a foreigner before he can be an adopted citizen of the 
States. It is absurd to say that children are born holy, except in the 
sense of their being legitimate. None are born holy, but such as are 
born of the spirit into the kingdom of God. Children are born 
sinners or unclean, because they are born of sinful flesh ; and " that 
which is born of the flesh is flesh," or sin. This is a misfortune, not 
a crime. They did not will to be born sinners. They have no choice 
in the case; for, it is written, *' the creature," that is, the animal man, 
'• was made subject, tjj paTaiortm, to the evil, not willingly, but accor- 
ding to the arranging (a«x rov viroTagavru) in hope." 1 This subjection 
to the evil, then, is referrible to the arranging, or constitution of 
things, which makes up the icoo-pos, or world. Hence, the apostle 
says, " by Adam's disobedience the many were made sinners ;' 2 that 
is, they were endowed with a nature like his, which had become 
unclean, as the result of disobedience ; and, by the constitution of 
the economy into which they were introduced by the will of the flesh, 
they were constituted transgressors, before they were able to discern 
between right and wrong. Upon this principle, he that is born of 
sinful flesh is a sinner ; as he that is born of english parents is an 
english child. Such a sinner is an heir of all that is derivable from 
sin. Hence, new born babes suffer all the evil of the peculiar depart- 
ment of Satan, or sin's, kingdom to which they belong. Thus, in the 
case of the Amalekites when the divine vengeance fell upon them, the 
decree was — " utterly destroy all thai they have, and spare them not ; 
but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, 
camel and ass." 3 The destruction of *' infants and sucklings" is 
especially commanded in divers parts of scripture. Not because they 
Were responsible transgressors ; but, on the same principle, that men 
not only destroy all adult serpents that come in their way, but their 
thread-like progeny also ; for in these is the germ of venemous and 
malignant reptiles. Had God spared the infants and sucklings of the 
Canaantish nations, when they had attained to manhood, even though 

' Rom. viii. 2? » Rom. v. 19. 3 1 Sam. xv. 3. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 11? 

they had been trained by Israel, they would hnve reverted to the 
iniquities of their fathers. Even Israel itself proved a stiff necked 
and perverse race, notwithstanding all the pains bestowed upon their 
education by the Lord God ; how much more perverse would such 
a seed of evil serpents as the Canaanitish offspring have turned out to 
be. It is a law of the flesh that " like produces like." Wild and 
truthless men reproduce themselves in their sons and daughters. The 
experiment has been tried on Indian infants. They have been taken 
from their parents, and carefully educated in the learning and civiliza- 
tion of the white man ; but when they have returned to their tribe as 
men, they have thrown off the habits of their patrons, and adopted 
the practices of savage life. The same tendency is seen in other 
animals. Hatch the eggs of the wild turkey under a tame one ; and 
as soon as they are able to shift for themselves they will leave the 
poultry yard, and associate with the wild species of the woods. So 
strong is habit, that it becomes a law to the flesh, when continued 
through generations for a series of years. 

But men are not only made, or constituted, sinners by the disobedi- 
ence of Adam, but they become sinners even as he, by actual 
transgression. Having attained the maturity of their nature they 
become accountable and responsible creatures. At this crisis, they 
may be placed by the divine arranging in a relation to his word. It 
becomes to them a Tree of Life, 1 inviting them to " take, and eat and 
live for ever." If, however, they prefer to eat of the world's for- 
bidden fruit, they come under the sentence of death in their own 
behalf. They are thus doubly condemned. They are " condemned 
already" to the dust as natural born sinners; and secondarily, con- 
demned to a resurrection to judgment for rejecting the gospel of the 
kingdom of God ; by which they become obnoxious to " the Second 
Death." 2 Thus men are sinners in a twofold sense ; first, by natural 
birth ; and next, by transgression. In the former sense, it is manifest, 
they could not help themselves. They will not be condemned to the 
Second Death because they were born sinners ; nor to any other pains 
and penalties than those which are the common lot of humanity in 
the present life. They are simply under that provision of the con- 
stitution of sin, which says, " dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt 
return." Now, if the 4<ord God had made no other arrangement 
than that expressed in the sentence upon the woman and the man, 
they and all their posterity in all their generations would have 
incessantly gone to dust ; and there have remained for ever. u The 
wages of sin is death." Sinful flesh confers no good thing upon its 
offspring ; for holiness, righteousness, incorruptibility, and life for ever, 
are not hereditary. None of these are inherent in animal flesh. 
Sinners can only acquire them by a conformity to the law of God ; who 
offers them freely to all, who thirst after the water of life eternal. ? 

THE CONSTITUTION OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. 
" Constituted the righteousness of God in Christ." 

The former things being admitted, if men would be righteous in 
God's esteem, they must become such by constitution also. The 

« Prov. iii. 18. 2 Ee V . xx , 14. 3 R ev> xx n. 17 . i sa iah 1* 1—3. 



118 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

" good actions" of a pious sinner are mere f dead works ;" for the 
actions of a sinner to be of any worth in relation to the future state, 
he must be " constituted righteous ;" and this can only be by his 
coming under a constitution made and provided for the purpose. A 
stranger and foreigner from the commonwealth of the States, can 
only become a fellow-citizen with Americans, by taking the oath of 
abjuration, fulfilling the time of his probation, and taking the oath of 
allegiance according to the provisions of the constitution. Now, the 
Kingdom of God has a constitution as well as the Kingdom of Satan, 
or that province of it styled the United States. Before sinners come 
under it, they are characterized as " without Christ, being aliens from 
the Commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of 
promise, having no hope, and without God (adtoi atheists) in the 
world." 1 They are termed " far off," 1 "strangers and foreigners," 1 
" walking in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding 
darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance 
that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart/' 2 But, mark 
the sacred style descriptive of sinners after they have been placed 
under the constitution of Israel's Commonwealth, which is the King- 
dom of God. '.' You that were far off are made nigh by the blood of 
Christ;" " through him you have access by one spirit to the Father ; 
and are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the 
saints, and of the household of God" — '* fellow-heirs, and of tne 
same body, and partakers of God's promise in Christ by the gospel.'' 5 
In this remarkable contrast is discoverable a great change in state and 
character predicated of the same persons. How was this transformation 
effected ? This question is answered by the phrase " in Christ by the 
gospel." The u in" expresses the state; the " fo/," the instrumentality 
by which the state and character are changed. 

As the constitution of sin hath its root in the disobedience of the 
First Adam, so also hath the constitution of righteousness root in the 
obedience of the Second Adam. Hence, the apostle says, "as 
through one offence (sentence was pronounced) upon all men 
unto condemnation ; so also through one righteousness (sentence 
was pronounced) upon all men (that is, Jews and Gentiles) unto a 
pardon of life. For as through the disobedience of the one man the 
many were constituted (/caT£crTa0j)(rai>) sinne?'s; so also through the 
obedience of the one the many were constituted righteous."* The 
two Adams are two federal chief s \ the first being figurative of the 
second 5 in these relations. All sinners are in the first Adam ; and 
all the righteous, in the second, only on a different principle. Sinners 
were in the loins of the former when he transgressed ; bur not in the 
loins of the latter, when he was obedient unto death ; therefore, u the 
flesh profiteth nothing." For this cause, then, for sons of Adam to 
become sons of God, they must be the subjects of an adoption, which 
is attainable only by some divinely appointed means. 

The apostle then brings to light two sentences, which are co-extensive, 
but not co-etaneous in their bearing upon mankind. The one is a 
sentence of condemnation, which consigns " the many,'' both believing 

' Ephes. ii. 12, IS, 19. ' Eph. iv. 17, 18. 3 Eph. iii. 6. * Rom. v. 18, 19 ; * 14 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 119 

Jews and Gentiles, to the dust of the ground ; the other is a sentence 
which affects the same " many," and brings them out of the ground 
again to return thither no more. Hence, of the saints it is said, " the 
body is dead because of sin ; but the spirit (gives) life because of 
righteousness ;" L for " since by a man came death, by a man also 
came a resurrection of dead persons (ai/a<n-a<r is vsKpwv.) For as in the 
Adam they all die, so also in the Christ shall they all be made alive. 
But every one in his own order : Christ the first fruits ; afterward 
they that are Christ's at his coming." 2 It is obvious that the apostle 
is not writing of all the individuals of the human race ; but only of 
that portion of them that become the subject of " a pardon of life" 
diKaiuvis £w»js. Et is true, that all men do die ; but it is not true that 
they are all the subject of pardon. Those who are pardoned are 
" the many," oIttoWol, who are sentenced to live for ever. Of the 
rest we shall speak hereafter. 

The sentence to pardon of life is through Jesus Christ. In being 
made a sacrifice for sin by the pouring out of his blood upon the 
cross, he was set forth as a blood sprinkled mercy s-at to all believers 
of the gospel of the kingdom, who have faith in this remission of 
sins through the shedding of his blood. " He was delivered for our 
offences, and raised again for our justification ;" 3 that is, for the pardon 
of those who believe the gospel ; as it is written, " he that believeth 
the gospel and is baptized shall be saved." 4 Hence, " the obedience 
of faith, 9 ' 5 is made the condition of righteousness ; and this obedience 
implies the existence of a " law of faith, 99 as attested by that of 
Moses, which is " the law of works." 6 The law of faith says to him 
who believes the gospel of the kingdom, " be renewed, "and be ye 
every one of you baptized by the name (eirt tw ovo/xaTi) of Jesus 
Christ for remission of sins."? Here is a command which meets a 
man as a dividing line between the State of Sin and the State of 
Righteousness. The obedience of faith finds expression in the name of 
Jesus as " the mercy seat through faith in his blood." Hence the 
apostle says to the disciples in Corinth, u know ye not that the 
unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God 1 . Be not deceived; 
neither fornicators, idolators, adulterers, effeminate, abusers of them- 
selves with mankind, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor 
extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some 
of you : but ye are washed, sanctified, and made righteous (*.hiKaiui§r\Tz) 
by the name (tv tw ovofiaTi) of the Lord Jesus, and by the spirit (zvtm 
TTVEVfian) of our God." 8 Thus, the spirit, which is put for the gospel 
of the kingdom and name, renewed these profligates ; the divine law 
and testimony attested by the spirit with signs, and wonders, and 
divers miracles, and gifts,9 and believed with a full assurance of convic- 
tion that worked in them by love to will and to do — caused them to be 
" washed by the name," to be ''sanctified by the name," and to be 
11 made righteous by the name of Jesus Christ." I say by the name; 
for it is the same Greek particle, namely, "iv," which precedes the 
words " the spirit," and is translated '■' by 9 in the common version, 

• Rom. viii. 10, 11. 3 1 Cor. xv. 21—23. 3 Rom. iv. 25. * Mark xvi. 15, 16. 5 Rom. i. fi. 
6 Rom. iii. 27, 21. 7 Acts ii. 38. » 1 Cor. vi. 9—11. 9 Heb. ii. 3, 4 



120 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

that goes before " the name." I have rendered them the same in 
both places ; and upon the authority of the phrase " washed by the 
name," I have translated (3airTiadt]TU) an tw ovofiaTi be ye baptized by 
the name. It must be clear to any man, unspoiled by a vain and 
deceitful philosophy, that to be washed by a name is impossible, 
unless the individual have faith in the name, and be subjected to the 
use of a fluid in some way. Now, when a man is " washed by the 
name of Jesus Christ" there are three witnesses to the fact, by whose 
testimony every thing is established. These are the spirit, the water, 
and the blood, and they all agree in one statement. Jesus Christ 
was made manifest by water at his baptism ; J and by blood in his 
death ; and by the spirit in his resurrection : therefore, the spirit who 
is the truth (to Trvev/xa £<mv h a/Cij0£ia,) and the water, and the blood, or 
the truth concerning the Messiahship, sacrificial character, and 
resurrection of Jesus, are constituted the witnesses who bear testimony 
to a man's being the subject of " the righteousness of God" 2 set 
forth in the gospel of his kingdom. The testimony of these witnesses 
is termed u the witness of God," which every believer of the king- 
dom and name hath as " the witness in himself. ," 3 

Water, then, is the medium in which the washing occurs. But, 
although water is so accessible in all parts of the world where the 
gospel has been preached, it is one of the most difficult things under 
heaven to use it so as to wash a man by the name of Jesus Christ. 
What ! says one, is it difficult to get a man to be dipped in water as 
a religious action ? No ; it is very easy. Thousands in society go 
into the water on very slender grounds. But going into the water, 
and havifig certain words pronounced over the subject, is not washing 
by the name. The difficulty lies, not in getting men to be dipped, 
but in first getting them to believe " the things concerning the kingdom 
of Goo. and the Name of Jesus Christ ;" 4 or " the exceeding great 
and precious promises," by the faith of which they can alone become 
the " partakers of the divine nature.'" 5 Without faith in these things 
there is no true washing, no sanctification, or purification, from moral 
defilement, and no constitution of righteousness by the name of 
Jesus, for the sons of men ; for, says the scripture, " without faith it 
is impossible to please God/' 

It was the renewing efficacy of the exceeding great and precious 
promises of God assuredly believed, that changed the gay and 
profligate Corinthians into " the sanctified by Christ Jesus, called 
saints ;" of whom, it is testified, that " hearing, they believed and 
were baptized." 6 Now, to these baptized believers he writes, and 
tells them, that " God made (ettoi^o-ei/) Jesus, who knew not sin, to be 
sin (that is, sinful flesh) for them, that they might be constituted 
(yivwvTUi) God's righteousness in him.;"'?' so that, being introduced 
into him (for an individual cannot beT/j a federal person unless intro- 
duced into him) the crucified and resurrected Jesus became u the 
Lord their righteousness ;" 8 as it is written, ;< of him, Corinthians, 
are ye IN Christ Jesus, who of God is constituted (*y£i/»i0jj) for us 

' John i. 31. » Rom. i. 17; iii. 21, 22, 25, 26. 3 1 John v. 0—10. * Acts viii. 12. * 2 Pet. i. 4. 
e Acts xviii. 8. 7 2 Cor, v. 21. 8 Jer. xxiii. G. 



RUDIMEiNTS OF THE WORLD 121 

wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemptior." 1 So that, 
whosoever is in him, is said to be " complete in him ;" in whom he is 
circumcised " in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh \" 
that is, all past sins ; being buried with Christ in the baptism, in 
which also he rises with him through the belief of the power of God 
evinced in raising him from among the dead. 2 

Now, because the unconstituted, or unrighteous, cannot inherit the 
kingdom of God, the law is revealed which says, "ye must be born 
again*" for says the King, u except a man be born again he cannot 
behold the kingdom of God." This saying is unintelligible to men 
whose thinking is guided by the flesh. They cannot comprehend 
" how these things can be :" and, though they profess to be ft teachers 
of Israel," " Masters of Arts," and " Bachelors," and " Doctors of 
Divinity," and of w Canon and Civil Law," they are as mystified 
upon the subject of " the new birth," as Nicodemus himself. But to 
those who understand " the word of the kingdom" these " heavenly 
things" are distinguished by the obviousness and simplicity of truth, 
To be born again, as the Lord Jesus expounds it, is to be " born of 
water and the spirit ;" as it is written, " except a man be born out of 
water (e£ Wa-ros) and of spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of 
God." 3 This is surely very explicit, and very intelligible ; who can 
misunderstand it, unless it be against his will to receive it ! 

The New Birth, like the old one of the flesh, is not an abstract 
principle, but a process. It begins with the begettal and ends with 
the having been born. A son of God is a character, which is de- 
veloped out of the " incorruptible seed" 4 of God, sown into the fleshy 
table of the heart. 5 When this seed, or word of the Kingdom, is 
received, it begins to work in a man until he becomes a believer of 
the truth. When things have come to this pass, he is a changed man. 
He has acquired a new mode of thinking ; for he thinks in harmony 
with the thoughts of God as revealed in his law and testimony. He 
sees himself, and the world around him, in a new light. He is 
convinced of sin ; and experiences an aversion to the things in which 
he formerly delighted. His views, disposition, temper, and affections, 
are transformed. He is humble, child-like, teachable, and obediently 
disposed ; and his simple anxiety is, to know what God would have 
him to do. Having ascertained this, he does it ; and in doing it is 
" boi'n out of the water." Having been begotten of the Father by 
the word of truth, 6 and born of water, the first stage of the process 
is completed. He is constitutionally " in Christ." 

When a child is born, the next thing is to train it up in the way it 
should go, that when it is old it may not depart from it. This is also 
the arrangement of God in relation to those who are born out of 
water into his family on earth. He disciplines and tries them, that 
he may " exalt them in due time." Having believed the gospel and 
been baptized, such a person is required to " walk worthy of the 
vocation," or calling, " wherewith he has been called, 5J ? that by so 
doing he may be " accounted worthy" of being " born of spirit," that 

> 1 Cor. i. 30. 2 Col. ii. 10—12. » John iii. 3—10. * 1 Pet. i. 23. •■> Matt. xiii. 19. e j an:€S i. is. 

» Eph. iv. 1. 



122 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD 

he may become " spirit," or a spiritual body ; and so enter the king- 
dom of God, crowned with " glory, honor, incorruptibility, and life." 1 
When, therefore, such a believer comes out of the ground by a 
resurrection from among the dead, the spirit of God, worked by the 
Lord Jesus, first opens the grave, and forms him in the image, and 
after the likeness of Christ; and then gives him life. He is then an 
incorruptible and living man, "equal to the angels;" and like tnem 
capable of reflecting the glory of him that made him. This is the 
end of the process. He is like Jesus himself, the great exemplar of 
God's family, born out of water by the moral power of the truth ; 
and out of the grave by the physical power of spirit ; but all things 
of God through Jesus Christ the Lord. 

In the way described, sinners are transformed into saints ; and it is 
the only way ; their conversion being the result of the transforming 
influence of " the testimony of God." Those who are ignorant of 
11 the law and the testimony," and who yet claim to be saints, and 
" teachers of divine mysteries," may demur in toto to this conclusion, 
because " in saying this thou condemnest us also." But truth knows 
no respect of persons ; and while the oracles of God declare, that 
men are " renewed by knowledge," and u alienated from the life of 
God through ignorance," I feel entrenched impregnably in the position 
here assumed. According to the constitution of the human intellect, 
the knowledge of truth must precede the belief of it. There is no 
exception to this. If cases be cited as exceptions, the faith is spurious, 
and not that with which God is pleased. It is credulity ; the faith 
of opinion, such as characterizes the spiritual philosophy of the age. 

Lastly, the act demanded of a renewed sinner by the constitution 
of rfghteousness, that he may be inducted into Christ and so "con- 
stituted the righteousness of God in him," is a burial in water into 
death. The energy of the word of truth is twofold. It makes a 
man " dead to sin" and " alive to God." Now, as Christ died to sin 
once and was buried, so the believer having become dead to sin, must 
be buried also ; for after death burial. The death and burial of the 
believer is connected with the death and burial of Christ by the 
individual's faith in the testimony concerning them. Hence, he is 
said to be " dead with Christ," and to be 4< buried w r ith Christ;" but, 
how buried? " By baptism into death," saith the scripture. But is 
this ail ? By no means ; for die object of the burial in water is not 
to extinguish animal life ; but, by preserving it, to afford the believer 
scope to " walk in newness of life," moral and intellectual. He is, 
therefore, raised up out of the water. This action is representative of 
his faith in the resurrection of Jesus ; and of his hope, that as he had 
been planted with him in the similitude of his death, he shall here- 
after be also in the likeness of his resurrection, 2 and so enter the 
kingdomj of God. To such persons the scripture saith, "ye are all 
sons of God in Christ Jesus through the faith ;" and the ground of 
this honorable and divine relationship is assigned in these words ; 
" For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put 
on Christ : and if ye be Christ's, then are ye the seed of Abraham, 

i Rom. li. 7 » Ram. vi. 3—11. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 123 

and heirs according to the promise." 1 They have thits received the 
spirit of adoption by which they can address God as their Father who 
is in heaven. 



THE TWO PRINCIPLES. 

" With the mind I myself serve the Law of God ; but with the flesh the Law of Sin." 

Although a sinner may have been " delivered from the power of 
-darkness," or ignorance; and have been " translated into " 2 the hope 
of " the Kingdom of God and of his Christ," 3 by faith in the divine 
testimony and baptism into Christ — yet, if he turn his thoughts back 
into his own heart, and note the impulses which work there, he will 
perceive a something that, if he were to yield to it, would impel him 
to the violation of the divine law. These impulses are styled " tha 
motions of sins." 41 Before he was enlightened, they " worked in his 
members," until they were manifested in evil action, or sin; which is 
termed, " bringing forth fruit unto death." The remote cause of 
these " motions " is that physical principle, or quality, of the flesh, 
styled indwelling sin, which returns the mortal body to the dust ; and 
that which excites the latent disposition is the law of God forbidding 
to do thus an'« so ; for, u I had not known sin ; but by the law." 

Now, while a righteous man feels this law involuntarily at work in 
his members, the law of sin, or of nature within him, he also perceives 
there a something which condemns " the motions of sins," and sup- 
presses them ; so that they shall not impel him to do what he ought 
not to do. The best of men, and I quote Paul as an illustration of 
the class, are conscious of the co-existence of these hostile principles 
within them. U -I find," says he, "a law, that, when I would do 
good, evil is present with me." Yes ; the principle of evil, and the 
principle of good, are the two laws, which abide in the saints of God 
so long as they continue subject to mortality. 

The reader is invited to reperuse pages seventy-nine and eighty on 
the subject of these laws, as it will prevent repetition in this place. 
The law of sin and death is hereditary, and derived from the federal 
sinner of the race ; but the law of the mind is an intellectual and 
moral acquisition. The law of sin pervades every particle of the 
flesh ; but in the thinking flesh, it reigns especially in the propensi- 
ties. In the savage, it is the only law to which he is subject ; so that 
with his flesh he serves only the law of sin and death. This is to him 
" the light within;" which is best illustrated by the darkness of Egypt, 
which might be felt. It was this internal light, which illuminated 
" the princes of the world, who crucified the Lord of glory." It 
shined forth in the philosophy of Plato, and in the logic of Aristotle, 
who walked in it, while "dwelling in the land of the shadow of 
death;" 5 and, it is "the light within" all babes who are born of 
blood, of the will of the flesh, and of man under the constitution of 
sin, in all countries of the world. 

Now, the scripture saith, " the commandment of God is a lamp ; 
and his law is light ;" 6 so that the prophet says, "thy word is a lamp 

1 Gal. iii. 26—29. 2 Col. i. 13. 3 Rev. xi. 15. < Rom. vii. 5. * Isaiah ix. 2. 6 Prov. Ti. 23. 



124 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

unto ray feet, and a light unto my path." 1 And to this agrees the 
saying of the apostle, that the sure word of prophecy is a light that 
shineth in a dark place. 2 Now, Isaiah testifies, that the word is made 
up of God's law and testimony, and that those who do not speak 
according to it, have no light in them. 3 This is the reason that the 
savage has no light in him ; because he is intensely ignorant of the 
law of God. Light does not emanate from within ; for sin, blood, 
and flesh, can give out none. It can only reflect it after the fashion of 
a mirror. The light is not in the mirror ; but its surface is so consti- 
tuted, that when light falls upon it, it can throw it back, or reflect it, 
according to the law of light, that the images of objects are seen on 
the surface, whence the light proceeding from the objects, is last 
reflected to the eye. Neither is light innate in the heart. This is 
simply a tablet ; a polished tablet, or mirror, in some ; but a tarnished, 
rusty, tablet, in others. It is called " the fleshy tablet of the heart." 
It was polished in the beginning, when God formed man after his 
likeness; but sin, ''the god of this world," hath so tarnished it, that 
there are but few who reflect his similitude. 

No ; it is a mere conceit of the fleshly mind, that man is born into 
the world with light within; which requires only to be cherished, to 
be sufficient to guide him in the right way. God only is the source of 
light ; he is the glorious illuminator of the moral universe ; and he 
transmits his enlightening radiance through the medium sometimes of 
angels, sometimes of prophets, and at others, through that of his Son 
and the apostles, by his all pervading spirit. Hence, it is that the 
scripture saith, " God is light," whose truth u enlightens the eyes." 
But, what is the truth ? It is "the light of the glorious gospel of 
Christ," who is the polished incorruptible fleshly mirror, which 
reflects the Image of God ; an image, at present, but obscurely 
impressed upon the fleshy tablets of our hearts; because we know 
only in part, perceiving things by the eye of faith, until hope shall 
disappear in the possession of the prize. 

God, then, is the source of light ; the gospel of the kingdom in the 
name of Jesus is the light; and Christ is the medium through which 
it shines; hence he is styled, the Sun of righteousness; also, 
€i the true light, who enlighteneth every man that cometh into the 
world ;" " a light to enlighten the Gentiles, and the glory of his 
people Israel." Now, the enlightening of every man is thus explained 
by the apostle. " God," saith he, *' who commanded the light to 
shine out of darkness, it is he who hath shined into our (the saints') 
hearts, with the illumination of the knowledge (-n-pos <$>wti<t}i.ov t»js 
yvwatws) of the glory of God in the person of Jesus Christ." 4 But 
" every man " is not enlightened by this glorious knowledge ; for to 
some it is hid. The tablets of their hearts are so corroded and en- 
crusted with opaque and sordid matter, that they are destitute of all 
reflecting power. Light will not shine in a black surface. Hence, 
saith the apostle, " if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are 
lost : in whom the god of the world hath blinded the minds of them 
who believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ should 

■ Psalm cxix. 105. a 2 Pet. i. 19. 3 Isaiah viii. 20. * 2 Cor. iv. 6. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WOULD. 125 

shine into them." 1 He darkens the tablets of their hearts by "the 
care of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches;" 2 and thus prevents 
them from opening their ears to hear the words of eternal life. 

If a man have light, then, it is very evident that it is acquired 
from witiiout, and not an hereditary spark within. When the Lord 
Jesus appeared in Israel " he shined in the darkness." This nation 
was so darkened by the propensities and human tradition, that they 
did not perceive the light when it shined among them ; " the dark- 
ness comprehended it not." 3 If this were the condition of Israel, how 
intensely dark must have been the world at large. Still the gentile 
mind was not so totally eclipsed as that of the savage. The nations 
of the Four Empires had been greatly mixed up with the Israelites 
in their history; so that the light of their law must have been con- 
siderably diffused among them ; though not given to them for their 
obedience. Hence, " the work of the law was written upon their 
hearts" to some extent; and created in them " a conscience," by the 
thoughts of which they accused and excused one another. 4 

This shining of the truth in the darkness of the nations was con- 
siderably increased by the apostolic labors ; for " their sound went 
into all the land, and their words unto the ends of the habitable." 
(t-ijs oI/cou/xei/jjs, or Roman JF,mpire.) 5 Now, although this light was 
almost extinguished by the apostasy, lamps were still kept burning in 
its presence; 6 so that the eclipse was not so total as that the c'arkness 
of ihe gentile mind was reduced to a savage state. When the scrip- 
tures were again disseminated in the tongues of the nations in the 
sixteenth century, the light of truth began again to stream in upon 
them. The scriptures were then like a book just fallen from heaven. 
The world was astonished at their contents; but "comprehended them 
not." Men discussed it, tortured it, perverted it, fought about it; 
until the stronger party established the foundation of the world as at 
present constituted. This world, called f Christendom," is much 
after the order of things in the days of Jesus. Were he to appear 
now, he would " shine in the darkness " as when among the Jews, 
These professed to know God, while in works they denied him. 
Their clergy said, " We see;" but Jesus characterized them as "blind 
leaders of the blind;" therefore, "their sin remained." They boasted 
in the law ; yet through breaking it, dishonored God. They pro- 
fessed to be more conscientious and pious than Jesus ; but he charged 
them with being hypocrites and serpents. They strained at gnats, 
and swallowed camels ; and gave tithe of mint and cummin, and 
despoiled the fatherless and the widow. And, " like priest like 
people." They crowded to the synagogues and the temple in splendid 
apparel. The bejewelled worshippers exhibited themselves in con- 
spicuous seats ; while the poor stood, or if seated, sat on footstools 
near the door. They made a great show of piety, sang the psalms of 
David with holy rapture, devoutly listened to the reading of the law 
and the prophets; and expelled Jesus and his apostle* with great fury 
from their midst, when they showed the meaning of them. With 
the worship of God they combined the worship of Mammon. They 

> 8 Cor. iv. 3, 4. 3 Matt. xiii. 22. » John i. 5. « Rom. ii 14, 15. 5 R m. x. 18. 6 Bev. xi. 4. 



126 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

heaped up gold and silver, and apparel till it was moth eaten ; 
oppressed the hireling in his wages ; and ground the faces of the 
poor. 

Such was the state of * the church " while Jesus and his apostles 
were members of it; and such is its condition now that " He standeth 
at the door, and knocks." " The Church" of the 19th century, 
by which I understand, not the "One Body;" 1 but that thousand- 
headed monster presented by the ecclesiastical aggregate of " Chris- 
tendom f is that Laodicean antitype which is neither cold nor hot, 
but lukewarm, and which saith, " I am rich, and increased in goods, 
and have need of nothing ; but knows not that it is wretched, and 
miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked;" 2 and ready to be 
" spewed out of the Lord's mouth." Its eyes are blinded by the god 
of the world. Its zeal for faction ; its devotion to Mammon ; its 
ignorance of the scriptures ; and its subjection to the dogmas and 
commandments of men —have made its heart fat, its ears heavy, and 
closed its eyes. " The people of the Lord, the people of the Lord, 
are we !" ascends as its cry to heaven from myriads of throats ; but in 
the tablets of their hearts the light of the glorious gospel of Christ's 
kingdom and name, finds no surface of reflection. Many who mean 
well, lament " the decline of spirituality in the churches ;" but they 
fail to perceive the cause. The scriptures have fallen into compara- 
tive disuse among them. They are superseded by shallow specula- 
tions — mere unintelligible pulpit disquisitions, the contradictory 
thinking of the flesh, trained to excogitate the creedism of the 
community that glorifies itself in the orator of its choice. The gospel 
is neither believed nor preached in the churches. In fact, it is hid 
from their eyes ; and the time is come, to break off the wild olive 
branch for its saplessness ; to cut off these churches for their 
unbelief. 5 

The principle, or spirit, that works in these children of disobedience, 
is neither the law of sin as exhibited in the savage ; nor the law of 
God as it appears in the genuine disciples of Christ. It is a blending 
of the two ; so as to make of none effect 4 the little truth believed, as 
far as inheriting the kingdom of God is concerned. This proportion 
of truth in the public mind is the measure of its morality, and ex£- 
getical of its conscience ; and constitutes that scintillation, or " light 
within," which is struck out by the collision of ideas in the world 
around. Educational bias makes men what they are — sinners, whose 
habitude of thought and action is " pious," or impious, civilized or 
savage, according to the school in which their young ideas have been 
taught to shoot. The divine law and testimony alone can turn these 
into reflectors of the moral image and similitude of God. 

The " intellect " and " sentiments " of the apostle's brain, consti- 
tuting " the fleshly tablet of his heart," had been inscribed by the 
Spirit of the living God, in a way that all believers are not the sub- 
ject of. He Avas inspired ; and consequently received much of u the 
light of the knowledge of the glory of God " by divine suggestion, 
or revelation ; 5 others receive the same knowledge, in words spoken, 

i Eph. iv. 4. 1 Rev. iii. 17. ■ Rom. xi. 20, 22, 25. * Matt. xv. 6, 9. « Gal. i. 11. 12. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 127 

or written, by " earthen vessels " like himself, in whom " this 
treasure " was deposited. 1 The means by which the knowledge is 
communicated matters not, so that it is written on the heart. When 
it gets possession of this, it forms that " mind, or mode of thinking 
and feeling (vows) with which the apostle said, he " served the Law of 
God." Being renewed by the divine testimony, his intellect and 
sentiments were sure to think and feel in harmony with the thoughts 
of God. Nevertheless, his " propensities " were only checked in 
their emotions. He kept his body under. This was all that he 
could do ; for no spiritual perfection of thought and feeling could 
eradicate from the particles of his flesh the all-pervading principle of 
its corruption. While, therefore, with his mind he served the Law of 
God ; his flesh obeyed the law of sin, which finally mingled it with 
its parent dust. 

This new mode of thinking and feeling created in a true believer by 
the divine law and testimony, is variously designated in scripture. 
It is styled, " a clean heart and a right spirit ;" 2 " a new spirit " and 
" a heart of flesh ;" 3 the " inward man ;" 4 " new creature ;" 5 " the 
new man 6 created in righteousness and true holiness f and " renewed 
hy knowledge after the image of him that created him :" 6 the 
" hidden man of the heart ;"? and so forth. This new and hidden 
man is manifested in the life, which is virtuous as becomes the gospel. 
He delights in the law of the Lord, and speaks often of his testimo- 
nies. He denies himself of all ungodliness, and worldly lusts ; and 
walks soberly, righteously and godly in the world. His hope is the 
glorious manifestation of Jesus Christ, with the crown of righteous- 
ness, even glory, honor, and immortality, promised to all who look 
for him, and " love his appearing," and desire his kingdom. 8 Never- 
theless, the law of sin, through the weakness of the flesh, fails not to 
remind him of imperfection. Being delivered from the fear of death, 
he looks forward to it as to the period of his change ; knowing, that 
when he falls asleep in the dust, he will afterwards be delivered from 
the principle of evil, by a resurrection to incorruptibility and unalloyed 
existence in the Paradise of God. 

1 1 Cor. iv. 7. 2 Psalm li. 10. 3 Ezek. xi. 19. 4 2 Cor. iv. 16 ; Rom. vii. 22. 5 2 Cor. v. 1*. 
« Eph. iv. 24; Col. iii. 10. 7 1 Pet. iii. 4. 8 Titus ii. 11—14; 2 Tim. iv. 1, 8 ; Heb. ix. 28. 



128 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 



CHAPTER V. 

Immortality in the present state a positive evil. — Immortality in misery unscriptural. 
—The professing world religious from fear. — The world's religions useful as a sys- 
tem of Ecclesiastical Police.— The Religion of Christ destitute of all worldly goods 
till his return, when it will possess all things. — The doctrine of immortality a 
divine revelation.— The Heathens baffled in their endeavors to discover it.— The 
Mosaic Cherubim God's throne in IsraeL— The Cherubim of Ezekiel and John.— 
The Cherubic Veil.— The Faces of the Lord.— The Flaming Sword.— Illustrated by 
Ezekiel's description of the glory of the God of Israel. — The brightness of the 
Spiritual Body.— The Way of the Tree of Life —The etymology of the word 
religion . — False religion based upon the idea of appeasing the wrath of God. — 
God already reconciled to the world. — The " Word of Reconciliation " committed 
to the apostles in the beginning. — The apostles the only ambassadors of Christ.— 
" The word " preached by the apostles entrusted to the disciples of Christ.— 
"Clei'gy" and "Laity" distinctions of the apostasy. — Religion defined. — Its 
grand desideratum. — No true religion without belief of the truth. —The word 
''faith" scripturally defined. — How faith comes. — The "religious world " infidel 
of " the faith." — " Love" scripturally defined by "obedience." — The religious 
world destitute of the Spirit of God. — Religion contemporary only with sin — 
Summary of principles. 



The Lord God, having arranged the foundation of the world, in the 
sentences pronounced upon the transgressors; and commenced the 
preparation of the kingdom in the stipulations of the New Law : 
decreed their expulsion from the garden eastward in Eden. As the 
Serpent had said, the man had become " as the gods," or Elohim, 
"to know good and evil," in consequence of eating the forbidden 
fruit. He had known good only in his novitiate ; but, being lifted 
up with pride, he had fallen into the condemnation of the devil, 1 and 
had come to know also by experience both sorrow and pain. t This 
was a great calamity ; but not so great as that a greater might not 
befal him, even in Paradise. He had eaten of one tree, and his 
presumption might cause him to take and eat of the other. The 
consequences of this eating, superadded to the first, would have ren- 
dered his situation still more deplorable than it was. He now knew 
evil, as the Elohim had done before him ; but there was hope ©f 
deliverance from it when he should return to the dust whence he was 
taken ; but if he should eat of the Tree of the Lives, this hope would 
be cut off; and he would live for ever the subject of weeping, sorrow, 
and pain. The misery of being the subject of evil for ever is forcibly 
expressed by Job. When reduced to the deepest distress, he laments, 
saying, " When I say, my bed shall comfort me, my couch shall 
ease my complaint ; then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest 
me through visions : so that my soul chooseth strangling, and death 
rather than my life. 1 loathe it ; I would not live about/ : let me 
alone ; for my days are vanity." 2 But, if Adam had eaten of the 
Tree of Life, when reduced to such misery as this, he would have 
sought death, but it would have fled from him. He would have 

» 1 Tim. iii. 6. ■ Job vii. 13. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 129 

found no deliverance. This, however, would not have been the worst 
of it. He would have involved all his posterity in the same intermi- 
nable calamity. The earth would at length have become crowded 
with undying generations of sensual and devilish men ; who, if any 
virtue should survive, would afflict it a hundred fold. For this awful 
consummation there would have been no remedy, but to break up the 
fountains of the abyss, and cast them down under chains of intense 
darkness, after the example of the terrene angels who sinned under a 
previous constitution of the globe. 

But, the repetition of the scenes of the pre-Adamaeral drama was 
not designed, although men were afterwards permitted to imitate it 
with a similar result ; with this difference, however, that the race of 
the angels was one generation, while that of men was composed of 
many. To prevent, then, the replenishment of the earth with undy- 
ing sinners, the Lord God said to the Elohim, " Behold, the manias 
become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now lest he put 
forth his hand, and take also of the Tree of the Lives, and eat, and 
live for ever: therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden 
of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove 
out the man." This is a very remarkable passage of scripture. It 
contains much in few words. The points which stand out, shining 
like two stars, are the acknowledgement that man had become as the 
gods by his offence ; and secondly, that he was expelled from Paradise 
that he might not live for ever. I shall defer to another place the 
exposition of the things suggested by his god-likeness in evil ; and 
after what has been already said on the tree of lives, but little need be 
added respecting his exclusion from present immortality. I would, 
however, so far anticipate another part of this work as to say here, 
that the finality of creation, providence, and redemption is, man upon 
the earth, glo?'ious, honorable, and immortal, in a state of unmingled 
good. It was because God loved man, and out of mercy to him, 
that he drove him out of the garden. Had he been actuated by 
malignity (a feeling by the bye that has no place in the heart of God) 
he would have left him free to involve himself in everlasting misery 
by eating of the tree of lives. But he did not create the man for 
such a destiny ; nor did he subject his posterity to evil by a stern 
necessity, that it might in any mode of existence be consigned to 
interminable torment of mind, or body, or of both. The creed that 
inculcates this is God-dishonoring ; and expresses the foolish thoughts 
of sinful flesh, unenlightened by his law and testimony. It is the 
vaporing of the pagan mind, adopted by the Apostasy, and transfused 
into the symbols of its credulity. As it knows not how to display 
the divine character in any other light than the propensities, the 
faintly illumined intellect, and the perverted sentiments of the flesh 
exhibit ; it presents God to the sons of men, as more like the Saturn, 
or Moloch, of the heathens, who devoured their own offspring, in 
shrieks and groans ; than as one who so loves the world, that he 
beseeches it to be reconciled to him ; and to accept without money or 
price, the exceeding great and precious things he has in store. Thus, . 

' 2 Cor. v. 19, 20. 

I 



130 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

the " religious world" is ruled by terror. The little faith it professes, 
works not by love x to the purification of its heart " ; but by the 
unceasing apprehension of burning in molten lava through endless 
ages. It works by "fear, which hath torment," and debases the 
soul j so that were it not for its fears, it would be honest and confess 
that it cared neither for God nor his religion. But there is no fear 
in love ; for perfect love casteth out fear. The world of professors, 
therefore, deceives itself in supposing that it loves God. " He that 
feareth is not made perfect in love," 3 It loves him not, for its con- 
science is defiled. " Love is the fulfilling of the law." Its "doubts 
and fears" demonstrate its consciousness of sin uncovered ; and, that 
it either knows not what the truth is, or knowing it, neglects, or 
refuses, to obey it. It is an egregious contradiction to confess with 
the same breath, that we love God, and are yet afraid of him ! Was 
Adam afraid of God so long as he continued obedient ? As soon, 
however, as he sinned, fear seized upon him, and he fled from the 
sound of his voice, and hid himself. The righteous man's fear of 
God is the fear of offending one he loves. God is terrible only to 
his enemies. His sons and daughters confide in him with the affection 
of children ; and he protects them with all the love and jealousy of 
his holy and blessed name. 

Being ignorant of " the exceeding great and precious promises" 
relating to the kingdom of God, the leaders of the people know not 
in what other way to move them to " get religion," as their phrase is. 
Hence, they pretend to preach "the terrors of the law." But 
" religion" got by such a process is worth nothing. Nay ; I will 
retract this. It is worth something. A religion of terror, so long as 
it is believed, is useful as a system of ecchsiastical police; which, 
associated with the civil and military forces, assists materially in 
keeping the world in awe. But for the fear of what may be here- 
after, professors would be as lawless as the antediluvian giants ; and 
thus, by the ecclesiastical antagonism of society being destroyed, the 
earth would be filled with violence as before the flood. Superstition 
is useful in maintaining order until the period shall arrive to supersede 
it by " wisdom and knowledge," which will be the stability of the 
times pertaining to the kingdom of God. 4 But as a means of in- 
heriting this kingdom, and of entitling men to the crown of righteous- 
ness, a religion which works by terror is utterly worthless. Remove 
the terror, and the religion's gone ; except in so far, indeed, as the 
possession of it is necessary to the preservation of its " temporalities," 
" vested interests," and worldly advantages. But, the " pure and 
undefiled religion" of God has no present temporalities, or worldly 
interests. It has no " lands, tenements and hereditaments ;" nor 
" states," colleges, or " sacred edifices." It is like the Son of God 
in the days of his flesh ; homeless, houseless, and poverty-stricken 
among the sons of men. It has great riches, and good things in store 
for the poor in this world who are rich in faith ; 5 it promises them 
the possession of the world 6 with all the honor, and glory, and riches 
of it, with endless life for the enjoyment of them ; but, it requires 

l Gal. v. 6. ? Acts xv. 9. 3 1 John iv. 17, IS. 4 Isaiah xxxii. 6. 5 James ii. 5. U Cor. iii. 28. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 131 

faith in God with filial obedience to his law, in a time of tribulation,! 
as the condition of the inheritance. It is perfectly absurd to imagine 
that men who are revelling in all the luxuries, conveniences, ai 
comforts of life ; enjoying the honor, glory, and friendship of ti 
world, as do the ecclesiastics of antichristendom in their several ranks, 
orders, and degrees ; to suppose, I say, that such can inherit the 
kingdom of God with Jesus, and that " cloud of witnesses," of whom 
Paul says " the world was not worthy," is preposterous. If men 
would reign with Christ they must believe his doctrine, and suffer 
with him, 2 in enduring persecution for the word's sake. 3 They must 
separate themselves from "the churches," both state and non- 
conformist, which have a name to live, but are dead in trespasses and 
sins. The whole system is rotten ; and awaits only the manifestation 
of the Lord's presence to be abolished with signal marks of his 
displeasure. Therefore, let all honest men, lay and clerical, who 
shall believe the truth, come out from among them, and be separate. 
Better stand alone for the kingdom of God's sake, than be numbered 
with the multitude in the day of Christ, who will be denied permission 
to " eat of the tree of life and live for ever." 

When man was expelled from Paradise, the Lord God, apprehending 
some new act of presumption, placed a guard over the tree of lives. 
This tree, it will be remembered, was planted in the mi 1st of the 
garden. Now, when Adam was driven out, " the Lord placed at the 
east of the garden of Eden, cherubim, and a flaming sword which 
turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life." This would 
seem to indicate that Adam was driven out in an easterly direction ; 
had he gone westward, the tree of life would have been between him 
and the Cherubim ; so that it would still have appeared accessible, 
and have tempted him to try to get at it ; which would doubtless 
have been his destruction. The cherubim and sword were to guard 
the Way of the Tree, so that it could not be approached. If they were 
disposed to make a circuit to avoid the Cherubim, the flaming sword, 
or devouring flame, flashed on every side ; " it turned every way 
to keep it" from being invaded by their presumption. From this 
arrangement, they either saw the tree of life no more ; or, saw it only 
in the distance. The latter is the more probable. The sight of it 
from time to time would remind them of what they had lost ; and, 
from what they had learned of the effect producible upon the eater 
of its fruit, it suggested the possibility of mortal man putting on 
immortality. This was a thing to be desired. But they could not get 
at the tree ; how could they then attain it ? There were but two -of 
them, and neither of them could answer the question. There were 
no scriptures testifying to them as to us, " this is the way, walk ye in 
it." They were ignorant of " the way leading unto life ;" 4 and, if 
they had not been " taught of God" they would have remained 
ignorant of it for ever. The thinking of the flesh could never have 
discovered it ; for the obtaining of immortality involved the belief 
and practice of things which it was utterly impossible for the heart 
of man to conceive. We have an illustration of this in the endeavor 

l Acts xiv. 22 ; 2 Tira iii. 12 2 2 Tim. ii. 12. Mark x. 29, 30 ; Luke xviii 29. * Matt. vii. 14 

i2 



132 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

of the heathen philosophers to solve the problem. Being ignorant 
of God's knowledge they ran into the most absurd speculations. 
They thought that immortality was a sort of ghost inside of a man 
that went to the fields of Elysium when death dissolved its union 
with the body. They regarded this innate principle as a particle of 
the divine essence from which proceeded all virtuous actions ; while 
vice was the natural result of the operation of the matter of the body, 
which was essentially malignant. The apostle refers to this in part, 
when he says, " professing themselves to be wise, they became fools." 1 
Hence, he styles "-the wisdom of the wise," " foolishness :" and, as 
the Corinthians had received the gospel of the kingdom, which teaches 
a veiy different doctrine, he inquires of them, e - hath not God made 
foolish the wisdom of the world ?" 2 Has he not shown the absurdity 
of their speculations about " souls/' " immortality," and " the nature of 
the gods ?" They had no idea of immortality being conferred only 
upon men, who might be accounted worthy of a certain kingdom. 
This was a doctrine which the flesh with all its thinking, and with all 
its logic, had no conception of. It never thought of the kingdom 
of God and the name of a particular personage, as the channel 
through which immortality was to flow. It was lost in reveries 
about Elysium and Tartarus ; and the river Styx which flowed 
between them ; and about Charon and his ferry-boat ; and ghosts ; 
and three-headed Cerberus ; and the snake-haired furies ; and Pluto 
"king of hell." But, of " glory, honor, incorruptibility, and life," 
an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance, the recompense of reward 
to the subjects of a righteousness by faith — of such a " prize" as this 
to be sought after by doing the will of God, they were as utterly 
ignorant as an unborn babe. Well might the apostle say in the 
language of the prophet, " eye hath not seen, ear hath not heard, 
neither have entered into the heart of men, the things which God 
hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them 
to us by his spirit :" 3 that is, to those who received the gospel of the 
kingdom. 

Immortality, then, and the way to it, are things about which man 
must have remained for ever ignorant, so long as their discovery 
depended upon the thinking of the flesh. In other words, they are 
matters purely of divine testimony ; and as faith is the belief of 
testimony, men can have no faith in them beyond what is stated in 
the written word of God. The carnal mind, by reflecting upon its 
own consciousness, may be " of opinion" that what it terms " I 
myself" is immaterial because it thinks, and "therefore immortal;" but 
beyond this it can never go. Opinion implies doubt ; for if a matter 
be beyond doubt, it is no longer opinion, but faith or knowledge. 
Where, then, is the man, be he philosopher or theologist, who can 
demonstrate the existence of an " immortal soul" in the animal man. 
by a "thus it is written," or a "thus saith the Lord?" A iew 
phrases in scripture may be twisted, and torlured into an inference ; 
which however becomes lighter than vanity before the direct testi- 

' Rom. i. 82. 8 1 Cor. i. tO. » 1 Cor. ii. 9-16. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 133 

monies -of the word -to the contrary. With these words, then, by 
way of preface, I shall proceed to offer a few remarks upon 

THE CHERUBIM. 

But little is said about .he Cherubim in the Mosaic narrative. The 
word is a plural noun, and represents therefore more objects than one. 
But, in what did this plurality consist ? I should say, judging from 
a text in the next chapter, that it had especial regard to a plurality 
of faces', for when the Lord God sentenced Cain to a fugitive and 
vagabond life, the fratricide answered, "behold, then, from thy 
faces (plural in the Hebrew) shall I be hid." 1 That is, " I shall no 
more be permitted to come before the Cherubic faces, which thou 
hast placed at the east of the garden, to present an offering for my 
sin." As he truly observed, " mine iniquity is greater than that it 
may be forgiven." He was exiled from the Faces of God still further 
to the east as a murderer doomed to eternal death 2 as the end of his 
career. 

That the faces were connected with the Cherubim seems unques- 
tionable from other passages of scripture where cherubim are 
described. The Lord spoke of them to Moses in the mount. Hav- 
ing commanded him to make an ark, or open chest, overlaid with 
gold, with a crown along its upper margin, he said, " Thou shalt 
make a mercy-seat of pure gold. And thou shalt make two cherubim 
of beaten gold in the two ends of the mercy-seat." In another place, 
this is explained thus — " Out of the mercy-seat made he the cheru- 
bim on the two ends thereof." Then it is continued, " And the 
cherubim shall stretch forth wings on high, covering the mercy-seat 
with their wings, and their faces one to another, toward the mercy- 
seat shall the faces of the cherubim be. And thou shalt put the 
mercyrseat above upon the ark, and in the ark thou shalt put the testi- 
mony that I shall give thee." 3 

It is probable, that the reason why Moses gave no description of 
them in Genesis was, because he intended to speak more particular! v 
when he came to record their introduction into the most holy place 
of the tabernacle. In the text above recited, they are described as 
having wings and faces ; and being made out of the same piece of 
gold as the mercy-seat, upon which they looked down, beholding, as 
it were, the blood sprinkled upon it ; it is evident, they w r ere symbols 
connected with the institution of atonement for sin through the 
shedding of blood. But they were still more significative. They 
were God's throne in Israel. Hence, the psalmist saith, " The Lord 
reigneth ; he sitteth between the cherubim." This throne was erected 
upon mercy ; and for this reason it was,. that the covering of the ark 
containing the testimony, the manna, 4 and the resurrected rod, 5 was 
styled the Mercy-seat, or throne, where the Lord covered the sins of 
the people. It was also the Oracle, or place from which God com- 
muned with Israel through; Moses. " There," said the Lord, " will I 

Gen. iv. 14. 3 1 lz'cm iii. 15. 3 Exod. xiv. 10—21. * Exod. xvi 33 ; John vi. 33. 5 Numb. 
xviL 8 ; Isaiah xi. 1. 



lit RUDIMENTS OF THB WORLD. 

meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy- 
seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the Ark of 
Testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment 
unto the children of Israel." 

But, though Moses informs us of two cherubim with a plurality of 
faces and wings each, he does not tell us what kind of faces, or how 
many wings they had. This deficiency, however, seems to be sup- 
plied by Ezekiel. Those he saw had each of them four faces and 
four wings ; a human body with feet like a calf's, and the hands of 
a man under their wings. Of their faces, one was like a man's ; a 
second, like a lion's ; a third, like that of an ox ; and a fourth, like an 
eagle's. The things of his first chapter taken collectively, evidently 
represent the Messiah upon his throne, surrounded by his saints, and 
all energized and made glorious by the Spirit of God. The rings of 
Ezekiel' s wheels were full of eyes ; but in the cherubim which John 
saw, the wheels were not introduced, but two more wings were added, 
and the eyes were transferred to the six wings. 1 In this place, the 
cherubim are styled " beasts," more properly living creatures (to Jk) ; 
and are associated with " twenty-four elders." Now, by attending to 
what is affirmed of them in another place, we shall see who are 
represented by the four cherubim of Ezekiel with four faces each, 
and their wheels ; and the four of John with one different face each, 
and twenty-four typical elders. It is written, that " they fell down 
before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials 
full of odors, which are (or represent) the prayers of the saints. And 
they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and 
to open the seals thereof : for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us 
to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, 
and nation ; and hast made its unto our God kings and priests ; and 
we shall reign on earth.'"" From this it is evident, that the cherubim, 
&c, represent the aggregate of those redeemed from the nations, in 
their resurrection state. The Lamb, the four cherubs, and the 
twenty-four elders, are a symbolical representation of what is expressed 
by the phrase, u them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called 
saints;" that is, those who have been constituted the righteousness of 
God in Christ in a glorifieil state. The cherubim are the federal 
symbol ; and the eyes, representative of the individuals constituted in 
him who is signified by the Cherubim. The Lamb is introduced to 
represent the relationship between the holy eyes, or saints, and the 
Cherubic Faces ; that is, between them and the Lord Jesus ; while 
u the twenty-four elders" are indicative of their constitution as "the 
Israel of God." There are twenty four, because the kingdom of 
God, being an Israelitish Commonwealth, is arranged with the twelve 
sons of Jncab as its gates ; 3 and with the twelve apostles of the Lamb 
as its foundations ; 4 the former being the entrance into present life of 
the fleshly tribes, or subjects ; and the latter, the foundations of the 
adopted tribes, or heirs of the kingdom ; so that twenty-four is the 
Representative constitutional number of the spiritual Israel of God; 
for without the natural the spiritual could not be; any more than 

« lev. iv. 8. » Rev. v. 8- 10. 3 Rev. «i. 12. * Rev. xxi. 14 ; Eph. ii. 20. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 135 

there could be adopted Americans, if there were no American 
nation. 

But, the Mosaic Cherubim were deficient of several of the charac- 
teristics which distinguish those of Ezekiel and John. They had 
simply the wings and the faces. His cherubim were not only of 
beaten gold continuous with the substance of the mercy-seat ; but 
they were embroidered into the Veil, made of blue, purple, and 
scarlet, and fine twined linen, which divided the holy and the holiest 

E laces of the tabernacle. Now, when " Jesus cried with a loud voice, 
e expired (e^ettveuo-e) ; and the Veil of the Temple was rent in twain 
from top to bottom." 1 Thus, we see the breaking of the body of 
Jesus identified with the rending of the Cherubic Veil ; thereby indi- 
cating that the latter was representative of the Lord. 

We have arrived then at this, that the Mosaic Cherubim were 
symbolical of " God manifest in the flesh." We wish now to ascer- 
tain, upon what principles his incarnate manifestation was represented 
by the Cherubim ? First, then, in the solution of this interesting 
problem, I remark, that the scriptures speak of God after the follow- 
ing manner. " God is light, and in him is no darkness at all ;" 2 
again, " God is a Spirit ; and they that worship him, must worship 
him in spirit and in truth ;" 3 and thirdly, " our God is a consuming 
fire." 4 * In these three texts, which are only a sample of many others, 
wc perceive that God is represented by light, spirit, and fire; when, 
therefore, he is symbolized as manifest in flesh, it becomes necessary 
to select certain signs representative of light, spirit, and fire, derived 
from the animal kingdom. Now, the ancients selected the lion, the 
ox, and the eagle, for this purpose, probably from tradition of the 
signification of these animals, or the faces of them, in the original 
Cherubim. They are called God's Faces because his omniscience, 
purity, and jealousy, are expressed in them. But the omniscient, 
jealous, and incorruptible God, was to be manifested in a particular 
kind of flesh. Hence, it was necessary to add a fourth face to show 
in what nature he would show himself. For this reason, the human 
face was associated with the lion, the ox, and the eagle. These four 
faces united in one human shape, formed out of beaten gold; and 
two such, not separate and distinct symbols, but standing one on each 
end of the mercy-seat, and the same in continuity and substance with 
it ; — taken as a whole, represented Jesus, the true blood-sprinkled 
mercy-seat, or propitiatory, " in whom dwelleth the fulness of the 
Godhead bodily." 5 All four faces were to look upon the mercy-seat, 
so as to behold the sprinkled blood of the yearly sacrifice. To accom- 
plish this, two cherubs were necessary ; so that the lion, and the ox, 
faces of the one ; and the man, and the eagle, faces of the other, 
should all be " mercy-seat- ward." It will be seen from this view of 
things, how important a place the Cherubim occupied in the worship 
of God connected with " the representation of the truth." They 
were not objects of adoration ; but symbols representing to the mind 
of an intelligent believer, the Seed of the woman as God manifested 
in the likeness of sinful flesh. This I take it was the significancy of 

1 Mark xv. 37, 38 2 1 Jolm i. 5. * John ir. 34. 4 D«ut it. 24. * Rom. iii. 25 ; Col. ii. 3, 9, 



136 11UD1MENTS OF THE WORLD. 

ihe Cherubim which the Lord God placed at. the east of the garden ; 
and which became the germ, as it were, of the shadowy observances 
of the patriarchal and Mosaic institutions ; whose substance was of 
Christ. 

THE FLAMING SWORD. 

" A Flaming Sword which turned every way." 

The things represented by the lion, ox, and eagle, faces, were visibly 
manifested in the sword of flame. This was light, spirit, and fire, 
flaming around the cherubim as the glory of God. It turned every 
way to. keep the way of the tree of life. This is all Moses says about 
it; and were it not for other testimonies, we should be at a loss to 
understand its allegorical signification. The cherubim set up in the 
tabernacle and first temple, were enveloped in a cloud of thick dark- 
ness. 1 At night, the cloud which was visible without the former, 
appeared like a blaze of fire, 2 but in the day, it towered aloft as a 
pillar of cloud. Darkness and fire were frequent accompaniments 
of the divine presence ; indeed, always so upon great occasions. The 
presence of the Lord upon Mount Sinai was a magnificent and terrible 
example ; and when Jesus expired in blood, Judea was veiled in 
darkness, and God looked upon it. With the exception of the thunder, 
the earthquake, the tempest, and the flashing lightning, God's com- 
muning with Moses, and after him with the High Priests, were 
conducted from between the cherubim, as upon Sinai — (i the Lord 
descended upon it in fire ; and the smoke thereof ascended as the 
smoke of a furnace ; and God answered him by a voice ;" 3 so that 
the thick darkness became luminous and indicated his presence. The 
illumination of the darkness without the voice would be sufficient to 
give assurance of acceptance. The Priest having witnessed this on 
the great day of atonement, when he came out to the people, looking 
for him with anxiety to know the result, would be enabled to report to 
them that the Lord had shined forth. This was the sign to them of 
a typical salvation. Hence, Asaph prays, " give ear, O Shepherd 
of Israel ; thou that dwellest between the cherubim shine forth — stir 
up thy strength, and come and save us. Turn us again, O God, 
cause thy face to shine ; and we shall be saved." 4 

But the flaming sword in Eden is more strikingly illustrated as to 
its probable appearance by Ezekiel's description of the cherubic glory. 
He says, he beheld " a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a 
brightness was about it, and out of the brightness thereof as the color 
of amber, out of the midst of the fire ; whence issued forth the like- 
ness of four living creatures,/' or cherubim. " Their appearance was 
like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps : it went 
up and down among the living creatures : and the fire was bright, and 
out of the fire went forth lightning. And the living creatures ran 
and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning." 

It was customary with the Lord to answer men by fire when any 
great principle, or new institution, was to be established. Thus, the 

I Chron. v. 14; vi. 1. ? Exod. xl. 35— 38. 3 Ex 0( i. xix. 18. * Psalm lxxx. 1—8. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 137 

covenant with Abraham was confirmed by fire j 1 there also came out 
a fire from before the Lord, and consumed the offering on Aaron's 
induction as high priest ; 2 when the plague was stayed at the inter- 
cession of David, the Lord answered him by fire from heaven upon 
the altar of burnt offering, and thus indicated the place he had chosen 
to place his name there ; 3 and also at the dedication of the temple fire 
consumed the sacrifices in the same way. 4 From these examples, I 
think it is a fair inference, that the flaming sword in Eden was applied 
to a similar purpose, namely, to flash forth its fire for the consumption 
of the sacrifices offered by the family of Adam before the Lord. 

The fire described by Ezekiel represented the spirit of God in its 
cherubic relations ; for as the fire flashed its lightning so they moved 
to and fro. It also represented the glory, or brightness, of the 
Messiah as he will appear upon his throne. " I saw," saith he, " as 
the appearance of a man above upon the throne : as the color of 
amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the 
appearance of his loins even upward, and from thence downward, as 
it were, the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. 
As' the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain 
so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the 
appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord"** The apocalyptic 
representation of the Lord's glorv when seated on the throne of David, 
is a repetition of Ezekiel's, though under some modification, so as to 
adapt it to circumstances which had arisen out of the things concerning 
Jesus. " I beheld," says John, " a throne was set in the heaven, and 
one sat on the throne. And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper 
and a sardine stone : and there was a rainbow round about the throne, 
in sight like unto an emerald. And out of the throne proceeded 
lightnings and thunderings, and voices : and there were seven lamps 
of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of 
God."* 

From these passages, it is evident, that fire which is also light, is 
in symbolic representation significative of the spirit of God. If 
more proof were necessary, the outpouring of the spirit on Pentecost 
and at the house of Cornelius, would be sufficient to settle the matter.? 
Now, when this appearance envelopes men and things, it is called 
glory, or majesty. Hence, referring to the transfiguration of Jesus 
on the Mount, the apostle says, "we were eye-witnesses of his majesty : 
for he received from God the Father honor and glory." 8 Such 
glory, or brightness, so beautifully represented by Ezekiel and John, 
will clothe the saints, as well as the Lord Jesus, when they shall 
appear in the kingdom of God : as it is written, " they that be wise 
shall shine as the brightness of the firmament ; and they that turn 
many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. "9 The apostle 
also speaks of the brightness of the sun, moon, and stars, as an illus- 
tration of the glory of the risen saints ; 10 and what is symbolically 
represented in Ezekiel and John of the glory of the Lord, is plainly 

1 Gen. xv. 17. * Lev. ix. 24. 3 1 Chron. xxi. 16, 18, 26 ; xxii. 1. * 2 Chron. vii. 1. * Ezek. i. 4, 
13 14, 26 - 28. e Rev iv. *, 5. * Acts ii 2- -4 ; xi. 15. » 2 Pet. i. 16. 9 Dan. xii. 3. I0 1 Cor 

xv. 41 42. 



138 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. , 

affirmed by the prophet in these words: "the moon shall be con- 
founded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of Hosts shall reign 
on Mount Sion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously. " ,x 
From the whole, then, I conclude, that the cherubim and flaming 
sword at the east of Eden's garden were representative, first, of God 
manifest in the woman's nature as " the word made flesh ;" and, by 
being bruised in the heel, set forth as the blood sprinkled mercy seat, 
or propitiation for sin ; ' and secondly, of God manifested in the 
spiritual nature, clothed with dazzling brightness, surpassing the sun 
and moon in splendor. The cherubim were the throne of the Lord 
in relation to the antediluvian world. There he communed with men. 
His presence was there, and the altar he had set up. When men 
went to sacrifice before him, there they presented their offerings. If 
these were according to his appointment, he accepted the worshipper ; 
and, probably, answered him by fire flashing forth from the cherubic 
glory, and consuming the sacrifice upon the altar. If the worshipper 
were faithless and disobedient, the fares were hid by thick darkness, 
and the offering remained unconsumed. This was the case with Cain. 
His countenance fell, and he expressed himself with anger. Then the 
Lord God " answered him with a voice," and the conversation ensued 
which is recorded in the Mosaic narrative. Having then, ascertained 
the signification of the cherubim and flaming sword, I shall proceed 
now to speak of the principles of religion, or of 

"THE WAY OF THE TREE OF LIFE." 
"Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." 

Religion is not coeval with the formation of man ; neither had it 
any existence during his novitiate. Though it was instituted in the 
paradise, it was not for his observance there ; for while he continued 
the sinless tenant of the garden, he stood in no need of the healing 
consolations it affords. Until he ate of the forbidden fruit, there was 
no breach of friendship, no misunderstanding, no alienation, between 
him and the Lord God ; there needed not, therefore, any means, or 
system of means, for the reconciliation of estranged parties. But, as 
soon as the good understanding was interrupted by disobedience to 
the Eden law sentence of condemnation to the dust was pronounced 
upon the offenders; and means were instituted to put them at one 
again with the Lord, that he might bring them back from the ground, 
no longer naked and ashamed of their condition ; but clothed with 
glory and honor, incorruptibility and life, as a crown of righteousness 
that should never fade away. These instituted means made up the 
way of life, which Moses terms u God's way." 2 David styles it " the 
path of life ;" 3 which the apostle in quoting renders " the ways of 
life 1 ' 6Bol i/otjs ; 4 that is, the way leading to life in which a man must 
walk now; and the way into the kingdom from the house of death. 

In the beginning, God's way, was styled " the Way of the Tree of 
Life;" which in the passage where it occurs, must be taken literally, 
and then allegorically. In its literal sense, it was the path leading to 

i Isa!ah xxiv. 23. Gen vi. 12. » Psalm xvi. 11. * Acts ii. 28. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 139 

the Tree in the midst of the garden ; but allegorically, it signified the 
things to be believed and practised by those who desired to live for 
ever. To believe and do, is to walk in " the Way which leadeth unto 
life ;" because immortality will be a part of the recompense of reward 
for so doing. Until the crucifixion, the Way was marked out, first 
by the patriarchal arrangement of things ; and secondly, by the 
Mosaic law ; all of which pointed to the Shiloh. But, when Jesus 
appeared, he announced, saying, " I am the Way, the Truth, and the 
Life ; no man cometh to the Father, but by me." 1 He became the 
Way, by his sacrificial death, and resurrection. Whosoever would 
attain to life must believe the truth concerning Jesus, and the king- 
dom, which is the most holy place. Hence, it is written, " we have 
boldness to enter into the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a New 
and Living Way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the 
Veil, that is to say, his flesh"" The old Way was but typical of 
the new ; but both are purely matter of revelation. Nothing is left 
to conjecture. Man may corrupt the Way of the Lord ; but he 
cannot improve it : and as surely as he attempts to adapt it to circum- 
stances, he converts it into " the Way which leadeth to destruction," 
which is both broad and easy to walk in, being in perfect harmony 
with the lusts and thinking of the flesh. 

The things of the Way of Life constitute religion. As a word, 
it is derived from the Latin reUgio, from religare, which signifies, 
to bind again : hence, religion is the act of binding again, or, that 
which heals a breach previously existing between two parties. This 
traditional idea the Romans expressed by religio. They believed as 
the foundation of their mythology, that mankind and the gods were 
at enmity ; but how it originated they had lost the knowledge of. 
Their impression was that they were angry, but not implacable ; 
nevertheless, so estranged from men that there could be no direct 
communication with them. Mediatorial converse with the gods was 
an idea universally prevalent in the world. The pagans had derived 
it by tradition from the family of Noah ; with whom was deposited 
the revealed principles of the Way of God instituted in the beginning. 
This idea of mediate communication for the appeasement of divine 
wrath was incorporated in all the domestic and temple worship which 
constituted their religion. They poured out abundantly the blood of 
victims ; and, from the tradition of Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac in 
obedience to the divine mandate, the Carthaginians, who migrated 
from Palestine, probably concluded, that the most acceptable offering 
for sin was that of human life. Be this as it may, the principle that 
" without the shedding of blood there is no remission," which is an 
axiom of God's truth, took deep root among all the descendants of 
the sons of Noah. Their system was a corruption of God's Way. 
They were without faith, and erred, not knowing " his thoughts." 

The word used by the Greeks for religion was 0^0-zceia, from 
Optionee™ to worship. This may be derived from crKsvos, taken meto- 
nymically for a minister ; and dpsto to shout or make, a clamour ; 
because, in that worship which results from the thinking of sinful 

• John sir. 6. ' Jleb. x. 19, 20. 



140 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

flesh, the performers rend the air with their shouts; and if idolators, 
they " call upon the name of their gods " with frantic cries, " cutting 
themselves with knives and lancets till the blood gushes out upon 
them." 1 The worship of God recognizes no such practices as these. 
When persons make their meeting-houses to echo with clamorous 
prayers, such as may be often heard among some who profess the 
religion of Christ — shouting, I say, like the priests of Baal, as though 
God were " talking, or pursuing, or on a journey, or perad venture 
sleeping, and needed to be awaked," — such persons evince that they 
are axtutj opyns vessels of wrath, who comprehend not the genius of 
the truth; and not otceujj eXtovs vessels of mercy, whose thoughts are 
in harmony with the divine law. How different was the prayer of 
Elijah ! From him ascended the u still small voice " of fervent, but 
tranquil, supplication. He knew that God was neither deaf nor 
asleep ; but a God everywhere present by the universality of his 
spirit. His words were few. 2 He did not expect to be heard for 
his much speaking ; knowing that God is not to be moved by " vain 
repetitions," or volubility of speech; but by the love he has for his 
children, and for the glory of his name. 

While men consider that there is a want of harmony between them 
and divine wisdom and power, and admit that they are deserving of 
divine wrath ; they do not understand, that as offenders they have no 
right to institute the means of reconciliation. They act upon the 
principle, that God has left it to them to worship him according to the 
dictates of their own reason. Hence, the world is full of modes of 
worship as diversified as the thoughts of sinful flesh. The notion 
that men may invent religious services ; and that the divine dis- 
pleasure can be appeased by human contrivances; are fallacies, 
which are characteristic of false religion wherever they are found. 
Men have no right to invent religions, or modes of worship. Even 
reason dictates this when the question is viewed as a breach between 
friends. When a misunderstanding occurs between such, the initiatory 
of a reconciliation of right appertains to the party offended ; and lie 
only has the privilege of dictating the terms of agreement. Hence, 
in the breach between God and man, it is God's prerogative alone to 
prescribe ; and all that men have liberty to do is to accept, or reject, 
the conditions of amity and peace. This view of the case precludes 
entirely the idea of appeasing the wrath of God by human iu^enuitv. 
God needs not to be appeased by man ; and every system, therefore, 
which is predicated upon the notion that it is necessary, is not only 
unscriptural, but essentially false. He is already reconciled to the 
world, which he has always loved; although it acts the part, and 
therefore is, the enemy of God. ''He so loved the world that he 
gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should 
not perish, but have everlasting life." 3 The fact of a divine religion 
being instituted is proof of the love he bears the human race. He 
seeks to appease men by his goodness, which invites them to repent- 
ance 4 His love is manifested in all that he has done for the world. 
He has sought to enlighten it, and to exalt it to a participation in the 

• 1 Kings xviii. 28. • Eccles. v. 1, 2. 3 John iii. 16. * Rom. ii. 4. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WOULD. 141 

divine nature by the ameliorating influences of the truth. He has 
sent messengers to it with their lives in their hands, ready to lay them 
down in the divine work of beseeching mankind to be reconciled to 
God. Is it not strange that men should besiege heaven with vain 
and clamorous repetitions, " praying and beseeching " God to " come 
down and convert these soul-stricken penitents," whom they are 
" bearing up in their arms before a throne of grace ;" representing 
them as quite ready and willing to be reconciled, if he would only 
grant his spirit, and so assure them that all was peace between them : 
— is it not extraordinary, I say, that this should be the order of 
things in the face of the revelation that il God was in Christ, recon- 
ciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto 
them ;" ** and so winking at the times of their past ignorance." The 
case is exactly the reverse of the pulpit theory. This represents the 
world as reconciled, while God is unreconciled and hard to be per- 
suaded. Hence, the world is full of religions, all of which have 
been invented, and continue to be observed, for the purpose of 
appeasing his wrath, and disposing him to peace. He is represented 
by pulpit orators as in a rage ; as ready to launch mankind into the 
flames of hell, and only prevented from hurling his thunderbolts at 
them, by Christ seizing him by his arm, as it were, and pointing to 
his wounds ! But this is purely mythological. God stands in no 
such attitude to the world, nor Christ to him. The Lord Jesus is 
not contending with the Father upon any such principle. There is no 
antagonism between them. They agree in one ; and what God con- 
ceives is committed to the Son to execute. The world is not recon- 
ciled to God; nor has it the least disposition for reconciliation upon 
any other principles than it has itself decreed. These principles are 
subversive of his supremacy in the universe ; they are annihilative of 
his truth; they demoralize his character — therefore he will accept no 
homage predicated upon them. He has long since proclaimed the 
conditions of peace, which he is waiting to ratify in every case where 
they are accepted. This proclamation is styled, " the Word of 
Reconciliation" which, saith the apostle, " God hath committed unto 
us." Not, be it most distinctly understood, to me; nor, to the eccle- 
siastics of any sect, party, or denomination, extant. The Word of 
Reconciliation hath been committed to no man, or set of men, now 
living. It was committed to the apostles and their divinely inspired 
co-laborers, and to them only. So that they could say in the words 
of one of them, " We are of God : he that knoweth God heareth 
us : he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the 
spirit of truth, and the spirit of error." 2 And they were perfectly 
justified in saying so. For Jesus said to them, u it is not ye that 
speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you ;"" 3 
therefore he said in another place, l< he that heareth you, hears me ; 
and he that hears me, heareth him that sent me." 

The word of reconciliation, then, was committed to the apostles, 
whom God appointed as his ambassadors to the world. And, he it 
observed, that their ambassadorial character did not rest upon 

1 Acts xvIL 30. ' » 1 John ir. 6. 3 Matt. x. 20. 



142 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD* 

assumption, like that of their pretended successors. God attested 
them, as he had done his Son before them. Their credentials were 
in the miracles which accompanied their word. They produced the 
signs of their apostleship ; and multitudes acknowledged them, as 
Nicodemus did their Lord, saying, "we know thou art a teacher 
come from God : for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, 
except God be with him." 1 They would not have been received as 
ambassadors of heaven if God had not attested them by his power ; 
but being so attested, they were prepared, and did present themselves 
at Satan's court, that is, before Caesar, to invite the world to be at 
peace with him. The pulpit orators of this age are either greatly 
deceived, or, if their eyes be open, most egregiously impose upon the 
credulity of the public, in pretending to be Christ's ambassadors to 
the world. Why, they are the world's allies ; the friends and sup- 
porters of the institutions of Satan's kingdom ; whose subjects pay 
them their wages on condition of preaching such doctrine as suits 
them ! Talk of being the ministers and ambassadors of Jesus Christ, 
how perverted must their own minds be to imagine it ; and how 
spoiled by "vain philosophy and deceit" the people, who can acquiesce 
in so unfounded a pretension. " Have they seen Jesus ;" or what 
special message have they to the world from God, that men cannot 
read for themselves in the scriptures of truth ? If they have any new 
light from him, he will attest it as he has always done by a display of 
• power* Men will then be justified in receiving them as plenipo- 
tentiaries of the Divine Majesty, provided always that what they 
speak be in strict accordance with what Paul preached ; otherwise, 
not.- " God hath given to us" say the apostles, " the ministry of 
reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though 
God\did beseech by us : we pray in Christ's stead, be reconciled to 
God." 3 These are the men whom he appointed, who sought not to 
please the public, but to enlighten them ; " for" saith one of tliem, 
" if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ." 

The church was associated with the apostles in the ministry of 
reconciliation. By " the church," I mean, not that multiform thing 
called " th'j church" by the world in these times ; but that one, 
undivided, body of disciples, collected together by the personal labors 
of the apostles and evangelists; and all through subsequent generations, 
who should believe and practise the same truth. To this " one body"* 
energized by the "one spirit,''* and " perfectly joined together in the 
same mind and in the same judgment,'" 5 and styled u the bride" — 
is committed the work of making known *? the manifold wisdom of 
God,' ,fi as contained in the word ; and of inviting the world to be 
reconciled to God. 7 No member of this body is exempt from the 
obligation of co-operating in this work. It is the duty and privilege 
of every one in his own sphere to endeavour to turn men to righteous- 
ness ; for there is no distinction of " clergy" and " laity" in the 
family of God. In the days of the apostles things were very different 
to what they are now. There were many congregations, or churches, 

' John iii. 2. » Gal. i. 8. » 2 Cor v. 18— 20. * Epli. it. 4. M Cor. i. 10; Acta ii. 32. 6 Eph. 
ill. 10. » Retr. xxii. l* 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 143 

but thsy were all one floe):, or " denomination ;" and men endowed 
with spiritual gifts were their rulers. But even these were not 
distinguished from their brethren as u clergy," or priests ; but as 
ministers or servants. Well knowing the presumption, pride, and 
arrogance of the flesh, the Spirit commanded them especially to feed 
the flock, and not to fleece it ; to oversee it willingly and of a ready 
mind, but not for the sake of compensation ; and to be examples to 
the flock, and not to lord it over the heritages. 1 The word " clergy" 
as the title of an order, is assumed by men who have no right to it. 
It is a word which comes from the Greek /cXrjpos a lot or portion; 
and is applied by the apostle in the text quoted to a single congregation 
of disciples ; so that when he speaks of all the congregations of the 
flock, he styles them " the heritages," rwv K\r} P u>v. But, in after years, 
the ministers of the heritages, or clergies, disregarded the command- 
ment, and set themselves up as lords of the heritages, which they 
fleeced, and oppressed for lucre's sake. They even made the clergies 
of God believe that they were nothing more than mere commoners ; 
while they themselves, the usurpers of the believers' rights, were God's 
peculiar lot, or portion, as the tribe of Levi was among the Israelites. 
This usurpation came at length to be regarded as legitimate ; and the 
distinction was then set up of * clergy'' and " laity" from 61 Xaot the 
multitude! But, the distinction belongs to the apostasy, and not to 
God's oppressed and scattered sheep. When {i clergy" get in among 
them, it is ° as grievous wolves, not sparing the flock, but speaking 
perverse things to draw away disciples after them" for their own 
worldly gain. 2 They have nothing to do with the word of recon- 
ciliation except to pervert it, and to bring it into disrepute. 

The principles of the apostasy, and indeed of all false religion, are 
such as result from the thinking of the flesh when left to its own 
communings. This is illustrated in the case of Adam and Eve. 
They sought to cover their sin by a device of their own. " They 
sewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves aprons." Their 
shame was covered, indeed ; but their consciences were not healed. 
But it was the best they could do in their ignorance. They were as 
yet unacquainted with the great principle that without the shedding 
of blood there could be no remission of sin. 3 They were not aware 
of this necessity ; for it had not been revealed : neither did they 
understand, that as offenders they would not be permitted to devise a 
covering for themselves. They had every thing to learn as the 
ground of reconciliation with God. They had no idea of religion; 
for hitherto they had needed none. It yet remained to be revealed as 
the divinely appointed means of healing the breach which sin had 
made between God and men. 

Having then, been made subject to evil, and consigned to the 
bondage of a perishing state, the Lord God repudiated their fig-leaf 
invention, and u appointed coats of skins" for their covering. In this 
testimony there is much expressed in few words. To appoint coats 
of skins implies a command for the sacrifice of the animals whose 
skins were converted to this purpose, [t also implies that Adam was 

« 1 Peter v. 2, 8, * Acts xx. 89, 30. 3 Heb. «. 22. 



144 RUDIMENTS OP THE W HLD. 

the priest on the occasion, who presented himself before the Lord 
with the mediatorial blood. When the sacrifice was accepted, the 
offence was provisionally remitted ; for the scripture saith, that it is 
not possible for the blood of animals to take away sins. 1 It was 
impossible, because sin was to be condemned in sinful flesh. This 
required the death of a man ; for the animals had not sinned : so 
that, if the whole animal world, save man, had been made an offering 
for sin, sin would still have been uncondemned in his nature. Besides 
the necessity of a human sacrifice, God deemed it equally necessary, 
that the victim should be free from personal transgression ; and that 
when he had suffered, he should rise from the dead so as to be " a 
living sacrifice/' If the death of a transgressor would have sufficed, 
then, Adam and Eve might have been put to death at once, and 
raised to life again. But this was not according to the divine wisdom. 
The great principle to be compassed was the condemnation of sin in 
sinful flesh, innocent of actual transgression. This principle necessitated 
the manifestation of one, who should be born of a woman, but not 
of the will of man. Such an one would be the Seed of the Woman, 
made of her substance, with Him for his Father who by his over- 
shadowing spirit, should cause her to conceive. He would be Son o\ 
God by origination ; and Son of Man by descent, or birth of sinful 
flesh. Now, it is not to be supposed that Adam and Eve did not 
understand this : God doubtless explained it to them ; for they had 
none to teach them but him ; and without his instruction, they would 
not have known what they should believe. It was from them, that 
Abel derived the knowledge which was the foundation of his faith to 
which God testified in the acceptance of the firstling of his flock and 
the fat thereof. Adam and his wife had faith, or God would not 
have accepted the sacrifices with whose skins they were clothed ; for 
it was as true then as it is now, that " without faith it is impossible to 
please God." Faith, then, in the Seed of the Woman, first as a 
sacrifice for sin, wounded to death by his enemies ; and afterwards 
the destroyer of the sin-power : in connexion with the sacrifice ot 
animals as representative of the bruising of his heel — was the ground 
of their acceptance with the Lord God. It was the Way of Life. 
If they walked with God in this way, they would be as pleasing to 
him as Enoch afterwards was, who was translated about 57 years 
after Adam's death. It was the way which was corrupted by the 
antediluvians ; and although the sacrifices have been interrupted, the 
faith and hope which gained celebrity and commendation to Abel, 
Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and a *?loud of other witnesses, com- 
prehended substantially the same things , but less in detail than in that 
faith which was preached by the apostles as the gospel of the kingdom 
and name of Christ, for the justification of all who should believe 
The things believed by Abel as compared with the faith preached on 
Pentecost, were as the acorn to the oak. The gospel of the kingdom 
in the name of Jesus was the revelation in full of the things com- 
municated in the beginning; and afterwards more considerably 
amplified in the promises made to the fathers of the people Israel. 

' Heb. x. 4. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 145 

When the saints are all gathered into the kingdom, they will not find 
themselves in an unexpected situation. They will all be there by 
virtue of believing the same things ; though some, contemporary with 
the later history of the world, will have had the advantage of more 
abounding testimony. Their sins will have been covered upon the 
same principle — by the raiment of righteousness derived from the 
sacrifice, by faith in whose blood they had been cleansed. 

There is no true religion without faith ; nor any true faith without 
the belief of the truth. Now, although a scriptural faith is the 
scarcest thing among men, it is exceedingly simple, and by no means 
difficult to acquire, when it is sought for aright. Paul gives the best 
definition of faith extant. He says, u faith is a confident anticipation 
(virovTacTi?) of things hoped for, a full persuasion (tXsyxo?) of events 
{rpayfiaTwv) not seen." 1 This is the faith without which, he tells us 
afterwards, God is not, and cannot by any possibility be, pleased. It 
is a faith which lays hold of the past and the future. The person 
who possesses it, knows what is testified concerning Jesus by the 
apostles, and is fully persuaded of its truth ; he also knows the 
exceeding great and precious promises which God has made concern- 
ing things to come, and he confidently anticipates the literal fulfilment 
of them. Laying hold of these things with a firm faith, he acquires 
a mode of thinking and a disposition which are estimable in the sight 
of God ; and being like Abraham in these particulars, he is prepared 
by induction into Christ, to become a son of the father of the faith- 
ful, and of the friend of God. 

This faith comes by studying the scriptures ; as it is written, " faith 
comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." - This word 
contains " the testimony of God. When this testimony is understood, 
and allowed to make its own impression in "a good and honest heart," 
faith establishes itself there. There is no more mystery in this, than 
how one man comes to believe another guilty of a crime when he is 
made acquainted with all the testimony in the case. The ability to 
believe lies in a sound understanding, a candid disposition, and 
knowledge of the testimony of God. Where there is ignorance of 
this there can be no faith. It is as impossible for a man ignorant of 
God's word to have faith, as it is for a man to believe another is 
guilty of an alleged crime who knows nothing at all about the matter. 
But, one may say, there are multitudes who believe in Christ who 
are very ignorant of the scriptures. Yes, they believe in Christ as 
Turks believe in Mohammed. But this is not the faith defined by 
Paul. The mere belief that Jesus is the Son of God is not believing 
in him. To believe in him is to believe what God testifies concerning 
him The faith of the u religious world" is like a stool with only 
one leg. It professes to" believe in Jesus ; but it is ignorant, and 
therefore faithless, of the message he was sent to deliver to Israel. 
His message had relation to " the things hoped for" — to the things of 
the kingdom which the God of heaven will set up upon the ruin of 
the kingdoms which now exist. Men are invited to believe in the 
Messenger of the Covenant, and in the message which unfolds the 

• Heb. xi. 1. ' Rom. x. 17. 



146 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

things of the covenant. To believe the one and reject the other is 
stultification. The " religious world " has placed itself in this pre- 
dicament ; and unless it believes the whole truth, which is not likelv, 
it will be cut off as was Israel in the days of old. 

" Love is the fulfilling of the law." 1 " He that hath my com- 
mandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me;" "if any 
man love me, he will keep my words ;" and " he that loveth me not, 
keepeth not my words." 2 In the face of these sayings of Je^is, 
what is the love of " professors " for God and his Son worth ? It is 
like their faith, of no account whatever. God asks men for their 
hearts ; but they give him only their lips. They profess to love him, 
but give their affections to the world. From the ecclesiastical throne, 
or pulpit, to the humblest " layman," can they give a scriptural 
demonstration of obedience to the faith ? They offer verbal sacrifices 
without end ; at least they do who are compensated for their words ; 
the " laity" are possessed of a legion of dumb spirits, and sit only as the 
listless hearers of the "eloquence" presented according to their taste : — 
but where is obedience to the gospel of the kingdom in the name of 
Jesus ? Who ever thinks of obeying this ? And yet he comes to 
take vengeance on all who obey it not. 3 I cannot too earnestly com- 
mend the words of Samuel to the attention of the reader in this 
place. " Hath the Lord," saith he, " as great delight in burnt- 
offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord ? Be- 
hold to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat o'i 
rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is 
as iniquity and idolatry." 4 A great principle is set forth in these 
words. It is that which can alone place men in harmony with the 
religion of God. Without it a man may indeed know the truth ; 
but he must believe and do if he would inherit the kingdom which 
has been preparing from the foundation of the world. 

Religion is of two kinds ; that, namely, which is invented by the 
thinking of sinful flesh ; and that which is revealed of God. The 
former is superstition ; and leads men to do a vast deal more than 
God requires of them ; or less than he has appointed. In what is 
called " Christendom " most improperly (for instead of being Christ's 
dominion as the word implies, it is the arena of his sufferings in the 
persons of his disciples, and in the suppression of his truth) these 
extremes of superstition in its plus and minus exhibitions, are illus- 
trated in all their diversity from popery, which is superstition in excess, 
down to quakerism, which is superstition in its homoeopathic propor- 
tion. The religion of God, on the contrary, is the juste milieu, 
occupying a commanding and dignified position between the two 
extremes. It does not require men to abase themselves in the dust, 
and to afflict their bodies for their sins ; nor to plant themselves as so 
many statues of clay, with downcast or upturned visages in the 
silence of the sepulchre, under pretence of waiting for him to move 
them to preach or pray. There is no fanaticism nor pietism in his 
religion. When in the exercise of it men are moved to action, they 
are acted upon by an intelligent and earnest conviction of the .truth. 

' Rom. xiii. It). ' John xh 21, 23, 24. » 2Thes». i. 8. « 1 Sam. xv. 52, 23 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. H7 

This is the instrumentality by which he rouses men to religious exer- 
cise — by the spirit which is the truth. 1 When, therefore, they are 
really " moved by the spirit " they are moved by the truth, and do 
not talk nonsense. They speak according to " the law and the testi- 
mony;" and thus evince to all who understand the scriptures, that 
they have " light within." Everything spoken not according to the 
word is nonsense ; and the spirit never moves men to speak nonsense : 
nor doth the light of truth within ever teach men to undervalue the 
institutions of religion ; or to live in neglect of them, under pretence 
of a refined spirituality, or superior sanctity. " By their fruits ye 
may know them." This is an excellent rule by which to discern the 
spirits. Men pray for the Holy Spirit ; profess to preach under its 
guidance ; and often in a very bad spirit, protest that they received it 
when converted. But the spirit dwells only with those who under- 
stand, believe, and obey the gospel of the kingdom ; and who walk 
according to its precepts. No man, be he preacher, or " layman," 
has the spirit, or anything else to do with it than as resisting it, who 
does not preach, and believe, the gospel Paul preached. The 
w religious world " is utterly destitute of the spirit which belongs to 
God's religion ; because it is ignorant of the gospel, and understands 
not " the voices of the prophets." If, therefore, it be sincerely 
desirous of the spirit of God, let it renounce the traditions of " the 
fathers" and " mother* " of the apostasy, from Origen to Joanna 
Southcote, Jemima Wilkinson, and Anne Lee ; let it shake off the 
thrall of Rome, Oxford, Wittemburg, Geneva, and Nauvoo ; all of 
which make of none effect the word of the living God : and let it 
" search the scriptures " according to the divine command, " proving 
all things and holding fast that which is good," that it may believe 
the truth and obey it in the love of it. Christ will then dwell in its 
heart by faith; 2 it will be rooted and grounded in love, having 
attained to the obedience of faith, which is the sole criterion of love 
to God ; and the well-intentioned, and conscientious, though unen- 
lightened, members of its community, will have no longer ground of 
lamentation on account of " the decay of spirituality, and the preva- 
lence of formality and worldliness in the churches." All the Most 
High requires of men is just to believe what he has done, what he 
teaches, and what he promises ; to obey the law of faith ; to take 
care of the poor of his flock ; and to keep themselves unspotted 
from the world. This is pure and undefiled religion. 3 But, alas ! 
where is it to be found ? 

Religion being the divine remedy for sin, it is evident that when 
the sin of the world is taken away, religion will be abolished. So 
ibnsj as sin exists in the earth, so long will there be separation between 
God and men ; for it is sin, and that only, which interrupts man's 
fellowship with God and his angels, as it obtained before the fall. 
When sin is eradicated from the world there will be no more death ; 
for death and sin are boon-eompanions ; as it is written, "the wages 
of sin is death." The abolition of death presupposes the extinction 
of sin in the flesh ; and consequently that the animal nature of man 

i 1 John v. 6. ^ Eiju. iii. 17. 3 Tit. ii. 11—14; James i. 27. 

K 2 



148 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

has been transformed (not evaporated, but changed) into the spiritual 
nature of the Elohim. Man will then be no longer subject to evil. 
His race will have passed through its 7000 years of probation ; 
and all of its individuals, who have been the faithful subjects of 
God's religion, will become the incorruptible and perpetual inhabi- 
tants of the earth, emancipated from every curse ; God will then dwell 
in men by his spirit as he now fills the Lord Jesus Christ. All dis- 
tinction of church and world, saints and sinners, righteous and wicked, 
shall cease for ever ; for there will be none of the Serpent's seed 
alive. They will have been utterly destroyed ; for only " the meek 
shall inherit the earth, and delight themselves with abundance of 
peace." 1 Religion begins in the third chapter of Genesis, and finds 
the record of its end in the two last chapters of the Revelation. Its 
abolition is expressed in these words ; " Behold, the tabernacle of 
God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his 
people, and God himself shall oe with them as their God. And he 
shall wipe away all tears from their eyes : and there shall be no more 
death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more 
pain : for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon 
the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And there shall be 
no more curse." 2 Then will the victory be complete. The Sin- 
power and all its works will be finally abolished ; and an eternal 
jubilee gladden the hearts of men, in whom God will be all and in 
all. 5 

As it is highly important that the reader should have a distinct 
understanding of the religion of God, if he would profit by it ; it 
may not be amiss, in order to facilitate its comprehension, to present 
the following 

SUMMARY OF PRINCIPLES. 

1. Religion is that system of means by which the breach made by 
sin between God and man is repaired j and the wound inflicted upon 
the latter is healed. 

2. Man's defilement was first a matter of conscience ; and then 
corporeal. For this cause, his purification is first a cleansing of his 
understanding, sentiments, and affections ; and afterwards, the 
perfecting of his body by spiritualizing it at the resurrection. 

3. An evil conscience is made manifest by the truth, and is evinced 
by shame, and by " doubts and fears." 

4. A good conscience is characterized by a full assurance of faith 
and hope, founded upon an understanding of the gospel of the 
kingdom in the name of Jesus, and an obedience to it. The obedi- 
ence of faith gives the subject " the answer of a good conscience." 

5. A seared conscience has no compunctions. It is that condition 
of thinking flesh which results from the absence of all divine know- 
ledge, and habitual sin. It is incurable. 

6. Religion is a system of faith and practice. 

7. The faith of religion embraces what God has done, what he 

• Psalm xxxrii. 11. » Rey. xxi. 3—5 ; xxii. 3. 3 1 Cor. xv. 28. 



UUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 149 

promises to do, and what he teaches in his word ; all of which is 
presented for the elaboration of a godlike disposition, termed u the 
divine Nature," in the believer. 

8. To be of any value religion must be entirely of divine appoint- 
ment. 

9. The obedience of religion is a conformity to " the law of faith" 
resulting from the belief of " the things concerning the Kingdom of 
God, and the name of Jesus Christ." It is termed " the obedience of 

faith ; for believers only can yield it." 

10. The repentance of religion is the thinking contrary to the 
flesh, and in harmony with the testimony of God ; accompanied 
with an Abrahamic disposition as the consequence of believing it. 

11. The morality of religion is the taking care of the widows and 
orphans of Christ's flock, and " keeping one's self unspotted from the 
world." Collectively, it is the " fruits meet for repentance." 

12. Religion hath its " elements," which are styled " weak and 
beggarly." These are "days, and years, and months, and times;" 
" meat and drink ;" sacrifices, ablutions, ordinances of divine ser- 
vice, holy places, veils, altars, censers, cherubim, mercy -seats, holy 
days, sabbaths, &c, " which were a shadow of things to come ; but 
the substance is of Christ." 1 

13. The elementary doctrinal principles of religion are few and 
simple ; and no other reason can be given for them than that God 
wills them. They may be thus stated : 

a. No sinner can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to 
God a ransom for him ; that he should still live for ever, and not see 
corruption. 2 

b. Sin cannot be covered, or remitted, without the shedding of 
blood. 

c. The blood of animals cannot take away sin. 

d. Sin must be condemned in sinful flesh innocent of transgression. 

e. Sins must be covered by a garment derived from the purification- 
sacrifice made living by a resurrection. 

14. To be naked is to be in an unpardoned state. 

15. The proximate principles of religion are " repentance from 
dead works, faith towards God, doctrine of baptisms, and of the lay- 
ing on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal 
judgment." 3 

» Col. ii. 17. * Psalm xlix. 7, 9. 3 Heb. vi. 1, 2. 



150 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 



CHAPTER VI. 

God the builder of all things. — Nothing accidental, but all things the result of 
divine premeditation.— Whatever exists he created for his own pleasure and glory. 
— The purpose of God in the work of creation and providence, revealed in the 
scriptures. — The present order of things merely provisional. -The economy of 
the fulness of appointed times the true " Intermediate State " of a thousand years 
duration.— The tower of Babel builders, peace-men, and socialists. — The principle 
upon which men attain to the angelic nature, and dignity, defined.— God's two- 
fold purpose in the foundation of the world stated. — The means by which it is 
accomplishing. — Dissertation on the Elohim. 



Among the many and various titles of the Supreme Being in the 
scriptures of truth, is that of a Builder, or Architect ; as it is written, 
" the Builder of all things is God." Pursuing this suggestion, I 
remark, that " a wise master builder " never begins to build without 
a design. He draughts this after a scale of so much to the foot. 
This is the extension, or time, so to speak, of the building, or edifice, 
to be erected. Having well considered the whole, he concludes, that 
it is the best possible plan that can be devised in harmony with the 
rules and principles of architecture. The plan then becomes his 
"purpose," his " foreordination," "predestination," or design. All 
subsequent arrangements are made to conform to this recorded pur- 
pose, because it is the very best his most deliberate wisdom and inge- 
nuity could devise ; and no extraneous suggestions, or considerations, 
will cause him to diverge in the smallest iota from his predetermin- 
ation. 

The next thing the Builder does is to collect together all the neces- 
sary materials, whether of brick, stone, lime, sand, wood, or aught 
else that may be needed. If a spectator desired to know what all 
these crude matters were heaped up together in one place for, the 
architect would reveal to him " the mystery of his will -which he had 
purposed in liimself^ 1 by submitting the draught of his plan, in all 
its lines, circles, angles, &c. ; and he would describe to him such an 
arrangement of the materials as would impress the spectator's mind 
with an image of the edifice, though it would fall infinitely short of 
the reality when perfected. 

If we suppose the edifice, call it temple, or palace, to be now 
finished, the architect would next order the rubbish, or materials 
which were left as unfit to work into the building, and therefore 
worthless, such as broken bricks, splinters, shavings, sand, and so 
forth, to be cast out to be trodden under foot, to burn,* &c. Thus 
the edifice is built out of the accumulated materials, according to the 
outline of the draught, or purpose of the Builder ; and the work is 
done. 

Now, as the scripture saith, the Great Builder of the heavens and 
the earth is God. " His hand hath laid the foundations of the earth, 

i Eph. L 9. > Mai. iv. 3 ; Matt. v. 13 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 151 

and his right hand hath spanned the heavens." The Builder of all 
things either left the elements of the world to a random and accidental 
aggroupement, or, he " ordered them in all things." Where is the 
man among " philosophers " who will stultify, or idiotize, himself by 
saying, that the Creator permitted chance to elaborate the terrestrial 
system ? The thing is absurd. Chance is defined to be the cause of 
fortuitous, or accidental, events. What is that cause ? The fool 
says in his heart it is not God. Why does he say so ? Because he 
would make the cause of all things, a mere physical disposition in 
matter, destitute of all intellectual and moral attributes, in order that 
he may get rid of all responsibility to such a Being. He hates truth, 
righteousness, and holiness, and therefore he vainly strives to persuade 
himself that there is no God of a truthful, righteous, and holy, 
character. But no man of any pretensions to sound mind would 
affirm this. Nothing has been elaborated by chance. The scriptures 
declare that everything was measured, meted out, and weighed ; and 
that the Spirit of the Lord executed his work without any to counsel 
or instruct him. As it is written, " He has measured the waters in 
the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with a span, and com- 
prehended the dust of the earth in a measure , and weighed the moun- 
tains in scales, and the hills in a balance. Who hath directed the 
Spirit of the Lord, or being his counsellor, hath taught him ? With 
whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in 
the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and showed to him 
the way of understanding ?" 1 

Crod, then, had in his own mind a pattern, or design, of all the 
work that was before Him, before he uttered a word, or his spirit 
began to move. This design, or archetype, which placed the begin- 
ing and the end of all things before him in one panoramic view, was 
constructed in harmony with the principles — the eternal principles of 
his vast, unbounded, realm ; which coincide with the immutable 
attributes of his character. The work he was about to execute was 
for his own pleasure ; as, saith the scripture, " Thou hast created all 
things, and for thy pleasure they are, and were created." But, when 
the work is finished, which, for his own pleasure, God labors to 
elaborate, what will it consist in? This inquiry we make as the 
spectators of the wonders of creation, providence, and redemption. 
We behold the materials of these departments of Eternal Wisdom, 
and we ask to what are all things tending ? What temple, or edifice, 
is the Divine Architect raising for his own pleasure and glory ? If 
we turn our thoughts within us, there is no voice there which unfolds 
the philosophy of his doings ; if we soar into the heavens, or descend 
into the sea ; if we search through the high places of the earth — we 
find no answer ; for " who hath known the mind of the Lord, who 
hath been his counsellor, or who hath instructed him ?" If we 
would ascertain what God designs to elaborate out of the past, the 
present, and the future, we must be content to assume the attitude of 
listeners, that he may reveal to us from his own lips what he intends 
to evolve in the consummation of his plans. 

1 Iiaiafa si. IS. 



152 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

God, then, has caused a book to be written for our information as 10 
his design — his ultimate purpose in the works of creation, providence, 
and redemption, which are the three grand divisions of his labor ; 
and which are all tending to the developement of one great and glorious 
consummation. This book, so graciously bestowed, and so inimitably 
written, is vernacularly styled the bible (6/3i/3\os?;) or, scripturally, 

THE WRITINGS (dt ypa<pai,) and sometimes THE HOLY WRITINGS. 

These are divided into two parts, popularly styled the Old and New 
Testaments. The appeals made by Jesus and his apostles to the 
writings were to what is now termed the Old Testament ; for there 
were no other writings acknowledged then. The New Testament 
was not written in the beginning of the apostolic era. Indeed it was 
not so much needed then ; for the apostles taught orally the things, 
which afterwards they in part committed to writing. The breathings 
of the spirit, enunciated through the spiritual men of the churches, 
supplied the place, which the New Testament now occupies. The 
writings of the prophets, which are the root and foundation of the 
New Testament, and without the understanding of which the latter 
is unintelligible aright, are divided into " the law and the testimony ;" 
or " the law, the prophets, and the psalms ;" altogether they are 
styled the word. This, with "the testimony for Jesus" left on 
record by the apostles, makes the " word of the Lord " to us, which 
lives and abides for ever. All writers and speakers must be uncere- 
moniously tried by this ; for, God hath said, that " if they speak not 
according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." It 
matters not who the sinner may be; pope, cardinal, archbishop, 
bishop, minister, or their admirers ; or, even one of the saints of God, 
or an angel himself ; nothing he may say, or write, must be received 
unless in strict conformity to this word ; and of this the people must 
judge for themselves upon their own responsibility ; and in the face 
of their eternal weal, or rejection from the kingdom of God. To this 
book, then, we appeal for light — for information concerning the things 
which shall be hereafter. 

If we take up an ordinary book, how could we proceed to ascertain 
the end the author had in writing his book ? We should read it 
through carefully, and thus having made ourselves acquainted with 
its contents, we should be prepared to answer the question intelligently 
and accurately. Why do men not do so with the Bible ? God is 
admitted by all sensible persons to be the author ; Moses, the apostles, 
and the prophets, are but his amanuenses to whom he dictated what 
to write. If then the question be put, what end had God in view in 
the six days' work of the creation ; in his subsequent providential 
arrangements in relation to men and nations ; and in the propitiatory 
sacrifice of the Lamb of God : — we proceed in the same way with 
the Bible in which he tells his own story ; and answer according to 
the light we may have acquired. 

Now the book of God is peculiar in this — it narrates the past, the 
present, and the future all in one volume. We learn from the accuracy 
of its details in relation to the past and the present, to put unbounded 
confidence in its declaration concerning the future. In ascertaining, 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 153 

therefore, the ultimate design of eternal wisdom in the creation of 
all things, we turn to the end of the Bible to see what God hath said 
shall be as the consummation of what has gone before ; for what he 
has said shall be the permanent constitution of things, must be the end 
which he originally designed before ever the foundation of the earth 
was laid. 

Turn we then, to the two last chapters of the book of God. What 
do we learn from these ? We learn from them, that there is to be a 
great physical and moral renovation of the earth. That every curse 
is to cease from off the globe ; and that it is to be peopled with men 
who will be deathless, and free from all evil. That they will all then 
be the sons of God, a community of glorious, honorable, incorruptible, 
and living beings ; who will constitute the abode of the Lord God 
Almighty and the Lamb, the glory of whose presence will evolve 
a brilliancy surpassing the splendor of the sun. — The globe a glorious 
dwelling place, and its inhabitants an immortal and glorious people, 
with the indwelling presence of the Eternal himself — is the consum- 
mation which God reveals as the answer to the question concerning 
his ultimate design. Tbe following testimonies will prove it : 

" The inheritance of the saints in light;" 1 — " an inheritance incor- 
ruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven" 2 
— " I, John, saw a new heaven and a new earth, and there was no 
more sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down 
from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 
And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, the tabernacle of 
God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be his 
people, and God himself will be with them, their God. And God 
shall wipe away all tears from their eyes : and there shall be no more 
death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more 
pain ; for the former things (or the " heaven and earth" in which they 
existed) are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, 
" behold I make all things new." And he said unto me, " write ; 
for these words are true and faithful." And he said unto me, " It is 
done ; I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will 
give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of water of life freely. 
He that overcometh shall inherit all things ; and I will be his God, 
and he shall be my son ;" 3 and there shall be no more curse." 4 

Now, the creating of all things new, implies that the constitution 
of things which precedes the new creation was an old system, that 
had answered the end for which it was arranged in the first instance. 
This old system, styled by John, " the former heaven and earth," is 
manifestly the system of the world based upon the six days' creation ; 
for " the former things," which had passed away in the vision were 
the sea, death, sorrow, sin, the curse, and all their corelates. This 
old creation, with its temporary mediatorial constitution, then, is but 
a grand system of means, elementary of a still grander and inconceivably 
more magnificent creation, which will be of an unchangeable and eternal 
constitution. The old Mosaic physical heavens and earth ate to the 
new creation, as the accumulated materials of a buildino- are to the 

1 Col. i. 3. 'I Pet. i. 4. » "Rev. xxi. 1—7. * Rev. xxii. 3. 



154 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

edifice about to be built: and hold the same relation to the new 
heavens, as the natural system does to the spiritual. We repeat, then, 
that the creation of the six days, which we have termed Mosaic, 
because Moses records their generations, was not a finality ; but 
simply the beginning, or ground-work of things, when God com- 
menced the execution of his purpose which he had arranged ; the 
ultimatum of which was, to elaborate by truth and judgment, as 
his instrumentality, a world of intelligent beings, who should become 
the glorious and immortal population of the globe, under an immuta- 
ble and eternal constitution of things. 

Such is the superlative of the matter. The physical creation of 
the six days is positive ; there was an ulterior, however, as well as 
an ultimate purpose in the work. The ulterior is the comparative ; 
the ultimate, the transcendant excellency of the design. The 
Almighty Builder of all things intended not to translate the whole 
human race from a state of sin and death at once into a state of un- 
mingled good and glory. He foresaw, that the living race would 
never be fit for this ; but that they must be previously disciplined and 
prepared for the transition. Hence, he proposed to develope an 
Intermediate State upon the earth, and among the nations of 
mortal men contemporary with it ; in which, good and evil would 
still be commingled, but differing from the preceding state (the pre- 
sent) in this, that, though evil would continue to be, sin should not 
have dominion over the world, but be dethroned by righteousness. 
"We have styled this state intermediate, because it is designed to 
occupy u middle place between the present times of the Gentiles, and 
the unchangeable constitution of the globe, when there will be " no 
more sea," and all men will be immortal. 

This ulterior, but not ultimate, constitution of things is alluded to 
in these words : " God hath made known unto us the Mystery of his 
Will, which he hath purposed in himself according to his good 
pleasure: that in the dispensation of the fulness of the times appointed 
(oiKovofxiav tov TrXjjpw/xaTos rcbv Kaipuv) he might gather together in one 
all things under (sv) Christ, both which are in the heavens, and the 
things upon the earth, under him." 3 This elliptical allusion to the 
revelation of God's will, or purpose, is strikingly interpreted by the 
following passages from the word. " The Iron Kingdom (the Roman) 
shall be divided into ten kingdoms. And in their days shall the 
God of heaven set up A kingdom, which shall never be destroyed : 
and the kingdom shall not be left to other people ; but it shall break 
in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for 
ever." They shall become " like the chaff of the summer threshing- 
floors ; and the tempest shall carry them away, that no place shall be 
found for them : and the stone (or power) that shall smite them shall 
become a great mountain, and fill the whole earth." 

" There shall be given to the Son of Man dominion, and glory, 
and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, may serve 
Him ; his dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not 
pass away, and His kingdom shall not be destroyed : and ail 
dominions, or rulers, shall serve and obey Him." 3 

i Eph. i. 9, 10. a Dan. ii. 41, 44, 35. » Dan. Tii. 14, 27. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 155 

" The Lord," Jesus, " shall be king over all the earth ; in that 
day shall there be one Lord, and his Name one." 1 

" The Lord of Hosts," Jesus, " shall reign on Mount Zion, and in 
Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously." 2 "I, Jesus, was 
born that I might be a King." 

" The righteous dead shall live again, 
A thousand years with Christ to reign." 3 

" The nations shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their 
spears into scythes : nation shall not lift up sword against nation, 
neither shall they learn war any more." 4 

From these testimonies, it is manifest to all minds, unspoiled by a 
" vain and deceitful philosophy," that, in the Economy of the Future 
Age, all kingdoms, states, and empires ; and all people, nations, and 
languages, are to be gathered together into one dominion under Jesus 
Christ. These are the " things in the heavens," and the " things on 
the earth," which, grouped together into one imperial dominion, will 
constitute an economy of things that will be wonderful and glorious. 
We see, then, what God hath declared shall be — an imperio-regal 

HIERARCHY OF IMMORTALS, which, UNDER ONE CHIEF, shall J)OS- 

sess all power and authority over subject nations in the jiesh. By 
such a constitution of things as this upon the globe, for 1000 years, 
the human race will have furnished from the foundation of the world, 
a sufficient multitude of righteous men to people the earth when there 
shall be " no more sea." Till this economy begins, the previous 6000 
years will have furnished scope sufficient to obtain an adequate num- 
ber of kings and priests from Israel and the nations, for the kingdom 
of the Future Age. 

After this exhibition, who will lack the ability to answer the ques- 
tion, — Why hath God made of one blood all nations of men to dwell 
on all the face of the earth ; and determined the previously appointed 
times ; and the bounds of their habitation ? The answer is, he created 
a human pair and subjected them to the law of procreation, that 
they might so multiply as to refill the earth ; he divided their posterity 
into nations by the confusion of tongues ; determined the times of 
their self-dominion ; and set limits to their territorial extension — that, 
in the fulness of time, the materials of a kingdom and empire of 
nations might exist, which He would confer upon a king, and such 
other regal associates, as in his own good and sovereign pleasure He 
should think proper to appoint. 

The segregation of mankind into nations, then, is not accidental, 
or the result of mere human policy. It is a divine appointment. 
Human wisdom was opposed to it in the beginning ; and if socialists, 
peace-movement men, and such like, could carry out their schemes, 
they would commingle the nations into one indiscriminate " universal 
brotherhood," and abolish all times and bounds of habitation. The 
projectors of the city and tower of Babel announced in their pro- 
gramme, that the enterprize was intended to secure to the patrons of 
the scheme " a Name ;" and to prevent them from being "scattered 
abroad upon the face of the whole earth." They were opposed to 

» Zech. xiv. 9. • Isaiah xxiv. 23. 3 Rev. xx. G. 4 Isaiah ii. 4. 



156 RUDIMENTS OF THE WOULD. 

nationalization; they preferred a fraternal communism, and proceeded 
to build a temple of social fraternity for all mankind. But God, 
and his purposes, were in none of their thoughts. They were con- 
cocting schemes utterly subversive of them ; therefore he interfered, 
saying, " Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language ; 
and this they begin to do : and now nothing will be restrained from 
them, which they have imagined to do. Let us go down, and there 
confound their language, that they may not understand one another's 
speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the 
face of all the earth : and they left off to build the city/' 1 

The developement of this imperio-regal constitution of nations is 
the one grand idea of the divine writings. It is the subject matter 
of the gospel of the kingdom, and peace, of God. All other divine 
arrangements concentre in this as the great focal truth of human 
redemption, and terrestrial regeneration. The needle is not more true 
to the pole, nor planetary attraction to the sun's centre, than are the 
things of the prophets and apostles to this idea of an Israelitish king- 
dom and empire of nations. To lose sight of this is to remain in 
hopeless ignorance of the faith and hope, which God has graciously 
set before us in his word ; and to lay ourselves open to every species 
of delusion that the carnal mind, so fertile of evil fruits, may enun- 
ciate in opposition to the " mystery of the divine will." 

Enlightened, then, by the scriptures of truth we are enabled to 
reply, that the present system of the world is but the aggregate of the 
means, through which God purposes to accomplish two grand develope- 
ments — the one near; and the other a thousand years more remote. 
The creation of the six days, and the peopling of the earth with 
nations of mortal men, is the mere preparation and collection together 
of the raw materials for a great, glorious, and magnificent display of 
wonders upon the earth. Hitherto, these materials have been shaped, 
or reduced from chaos into form, by the modifying influence of truth 
and divine judgment. But for these agencies " an universal brother- 
hood" of savages, such as we behold in the vast howling wildernesses 
of Africa and America, would have shared the globe with the nobler 
beasts of the forest ; unmitigated socialism after this type would have 
effectually superseded all ecclesiastical and civil association ; or, if 
this extreme had given place to another, the world would have groaned 
under the ferocious despotism of a " brother of the sun and moon," 
a Nero, or of a pope Alexander VI. But, truth, and the sword of 
God, have been thrown into the scale of human events. Multitudes 
have embraced that truth in whole or part ; vastly more, however, in 
part than as a saving whole. According to their apprehensions of it, 
they have resolved themselves into party groups. A minority, a 
great minority, so great as to be styled " a few/' have seized upon it 
in letter and spirit. These contend against everything opposed to it 
without regard to fame, property, or life ; they contend, however, not 
with the sword of the flesh, but with " the sword of the spirit, which 
is the word of God." Not so, however, they who embrace it in part, 
corrupt it by admixture with human tradition, or reject it altogether. 

' Gen. xi. 4—8. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 157 

They fight for their opinions as their means enable them. They who 
corrupt, or reject it, endeavour to suppress it vi et armis, by force, not 
of argument, but by clamor, misrepresentation, and proscriptive laws ; 
and where they can find scope, by imprisonment, war, and murder. 
But, there are others who understand the theory of the truth to a con- 
siderable extent, but have only that spirit of liberty and sense of 
justice in them, which the truth inspires ; without that disposition to 
suffer patiently and unresistingly for it, which it inculcates. Men of 
this class take the sword for liberty and the rights of men ; and con- 
tend against all who would destroy them with a courage, which strikes 
terror into their enemies. By such agency as this, by action and 
reaction, by agitating the truth revealed, and the warlike conflict it 
produces among the nations, things have been shaped into the civil, 
ecclesiastical, and social, constitution of things, which prevails upon 
the earth in the present age; and which, having waxed old, is ready 
to vanish away. 

We come now to a very interesting, and indeed, immensely impor- 
tant inquiry, namely ; ' Upon what principle, or principles, did the God 
of heaven propose to carry out his purposes in relation to the 
developing of rulers for the kingdom and empire of nations ; and 
for the peopling of the globe under its eternal and incorruptible con- 
stitution V Was it upon a purely intellectual, or a purely moral, or 
a purely physical and mechanical, principle ; or was it upon all these 
conjoined ? For example, he peopled the present world by first 
creating a human pair, and then placing them under the natural, or 
physical, laws ; will he provide kings and priests for his kingdom, 
and afterwards people the globe in its perfect constitution, by natural 
generation and physical regeneration ; or, upon some other principle 
revealed in his word ? Will he bestow the honor, glory, and dignity 
of his kingdom and empire upon men, because they are men ; or 
because they are descended by natural birth from righteous ancestors ? 
Or, will men inhabit the globe for ever, because they are flesh, and the 
offspring of his creative power ? 

It will doubtless be admitted, that upon whatever principle God 
might determine to operate, it would certainly be such an one as 
would redound most to the glory of his wisdom, justice, and sovereign 
power. This being conceded, we would inquire, would it have been 
to the glory of God, if he had made man a mere machine ? — Had he 
made inexorable necessity the law of his nature, which he must yield 
to as the tides to the moon, or the earth to the sun ? No reasonable 
man would affirm this. The principle laid down in the scripture is, 

that MAN HONORS GoD IN BELIEVING HIS WORD AND OBEYING HIS 

laws. There is no other way in which men can honor their Creator. 
This honor, however, consists not in a mechanical obedience ; in mere 
action without intelligence and volition, such as matter yields to the 
natural laws ; but in an enlightened, hearty, and voluntary obedience, 
while the individual possesses the power not to obey if he think best. 
There is no honor, or glory, to God as a moral being, in the falling of 
a stone towards the earth's centre. The stone obeys the law of 
gravitation involuntarily. The obedience of man would have been 



158 RUDIMENTS OF THE WOULD. 

similar had God created and placed him under a physical law, which 
should have necessitated his movements, as gravitation doth the stone. 

Does a man feel honored, or glorified, by the compulsory obedience 
of a slave? Certainly not; and for the simple reason, that it is 
involuntary, or forced. But, let a man by his excellencies command 
the willing service of free men — of men who can do their own will 
and pleasure ; yet voluntarily obey him, and, if he required it, are 
prepared to sacrifice their lives, fortunes, and estates, and all for the 
love they bear him ; would not such a man esteem himself honored, 
and glorified, in the highest degree by such signal conformity to his 
will ? Unquestionably ; and such is the honor and glory which 
God requires of men. Had he required a necessitated obedience, he 
would have secured his purpose effectually by at once filling the earth 
with a population of adults, so intellectually organized as to be inca- 
pable of a will adverse to his own — who should have obeyed him as 
wheels do the piston rod and steam by which they are moved — the 
mere automata of a miraculous creation. 

But, saith an objector, this principle of the enlightened voluntary 
obedience of a free agent is incompatible with benevolence ; it would 
have prevented all the misery and suffering which have afflicted the 
world, if the globe had been filled at once with a sufficient number of 
inhabitants, who should all of them have been created perfect. If 
the character of the A 11- wise were constituted of one attribute only, this 
might have been the case. But God is the sovereign of the universe 
as well as kind and merciful ; and all his intelligent creatures are 
bound to be in harmony with his name. He might have operated on 
the objector's principle had it pleased him; but it did not ; for he has 
pursued the directly opposite course. Instead of creating a human 
pair, he could, indeed, have filled the earth with immortals, and left 
them blessed for ever. But then they would have been without 
character, neither virtuous nor vicious ; and, like themselves, their 
world would have been without a history. God is not merely an 
intellectual, he is also a moral, being. " The Lord, whose name is 
Jealous, is a jealous God ;" yet " merciful and gracious, long suffer- 
ing, and abundant in goodness and truth. Visiting the iniquity of the 
fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them 
that hate me ; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love 
mf t and keep my commandments." Such is the name, or character, of 
God ; hence, as all his works must glorify him, they must redound 
to his praise as a merciful and gracious, a just, holy, and truthful, 
being. The sun at noon-day, the moon walking in brightness, and 
the stars in their courses, illustrate his eternal power and superhu- 
manity ; but, it is only his relations with intellectual and morally 
constituted creatures — the image and likeness of himself — that can 
illustrate his moral glory, and redound to the honor of his name. 

Seeing that God hath rejected the principle of stern necessity and 
immediate physical perfection, there remained but one other, according 
to which he could officer his kingdom and empire ; and at length fill the 
globe with an order of beings ''equal to the angels." Upon this principle 
he has worked from the foundation of the world to this dav. He 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 159 

made man a reasonable creature, and capable of being acted on by 
motive, either for weal or woe. He placed him under a Uw, which 
required belief of Gods word and obedience. He could obey, or 
disobey, as he pleased; he was "free to stand and free to fall." He 
disbelieved God's word ; he believed a lie, and sinned. Here was 
voluntary disobedience ; hence, the opposite to this is made the prin- 
ciple of life, namely, belief of whatsoever God saith, and voluntary 
obedience to his law. This is the principle to which the world is 
reprobate ; and to a conformity with which all men are invited, and 
urged by the motives presented in the scriptures ; even all who would 
inherit the kingdom of God, and afterwards inhabit the earth for ever, 
on an equal footing with the angels of the universe. 

The following testimonies will elucidate the principle of the divine 
economy. " I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of 
the water of life freely ; and he that overcometh shall inherit all 
things ;" — " blessed are they that do his commandments that they 
may ham right to the Tree of Life, and that they may enter through 
the gates into the city ;" — " to him that overcometh will I give to eat 
of the Tree of Life which is in the midst of the Paradise of God ;" 
— " he shall not be hurt by the second death ;" — ?« to him that over- 
cometh and keepeth my works to the end, I will give power over' 
all nations : and he shall rule them with a rod of iron ;" — u if 
thou doest well thou shalt be accepted ;" — " these things are written 
that ye may believe and that believing ye may have life through his 
name ,•" — " as many as received Jesus, to them gave he power 
to become the sons of God, to them that believe on his name, which 
are bom, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of 
man, but which are born of God;" — " except a man be born of 
water and the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God ;" — 
*• he that believes the gospel and is baptized shall be saved;" — " God 
will render to every man according to his deeds; to them, who by 
patient continuance in well doing seek fok glory, honor, and im- 
mortality —eternal life :" — but of testimonies there is no end. 
The law of the Lord is perfect, and without a single exception. 
There, are no " perhapses," or " maybes ;" it is not " yea and nay, 
but arnen in Christ Jesus." —The only way to the kingdom of God, 
and to a participation in the eternal constitution of the world, is in the 
path of a faithful obedience to the law of God. 

Now from these testimonies it is plain, that to attain the rank of 
sons of God in the eternal world — where, indeed, all are sons without 
exception — human beings, without respect to age, sex, or condition, 
must believe and obey the truth ; for "without faith it is impossible 
10 please God." This rule provides for no exceptions; but declares 
the principle without qualification. If faith then, be required, it is 
manifest, that God designed to move men by motive, not by necessity 
— but by intellectual and moral considerations. 

Now, the carrying out of this principle necessarily involves great 
loss of human, or animal, life; for if virtue be the subject of reward, 
vice must also be of punishment. Because, if vice be unrestrained, 
it would gain the ascendancy ; eradicate virtue from among men as 



160 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

before the flood; and defeat the principle, upon which it is proposed 
to effectuate the work, and thus destroy the original design. 

The mere fact of dust, by the power of God expressed in creation 
and the physical laws, assuming the form of men, does not therefore, 
entitle them to the glory of the Future Ages ; or expose them to the 
alternative of damnation in eternal death. These are doctrines pre- 
dicated upon a moral, not a physical constitution of things The 
destiny of the animal world, and that of men, is physically the 
same ; they are all under God's physical laws, and consequently have 
" no pre-eminence'* the one over the other. Man differs from other 
animals, as these differ from one another ; and if his race attain to 
the angelic nature, which God designs it shall, it will not be because 
it is human, but because it is voluntarily obedient to his laws. 

The peopling of the Future World upon this principle, we have 
proved from the word. It is a principle which annihilates all human 
sophisms and traditions about <; the salvation of all mankind ;" the 
u predestination of some to salvation, and of others to damnation by a 
stern, inexorable, necessity ;" " physical regeneration before death ;" 
" the disembodied existence of immortal souls in heaven or beil for 
ages before the resurrection ;" the " damnation and salvation of 
infants, idiots, and pagans;" " purification by death and resurrection 
without previous remission" — and much more unscriptural, irrational, 
and absurd jargon of the schools, and systems of the age. 

Universalism, a wide spreading upas in the world, which teaches 
that all human beings, of whatever age or character, shall dwell with 
God eternally, is based upon a mistaken notion of God's purpose in 
the formation of the animal world. It is assumed by that shallow 
system of speculative theology, that his intention was " the greatest 
possible good to the whole creation." This certainly was not his 
design ; for the principle I have demonstrated is utterly subversive of 
it The voluntary obedience of free men implies the possibility, as 
well as the probability, of their voluntary disobedience predicated upon 
the known capriciousness of human nature. Now, as the vei-y 
existence of God upon his throne, depends upon the suppression, and 
therefore punishment, of sin (which is sorrow and pain so long as life, 
lasts) the greatest possible good to all men in the universal sense of 
the word, was no part of his design, being incompatible with the 
principle and end in view. " The greatest possible good of the whole 
creation," then, being no part of his purpose, it is a mere conceit the 
idea, that God wills the immortalization and glorification of every 
member of the human family. He has purposed no such thing. His 
design requires only the separation from the nations of a sufficient 
number of men and women to occupy the globe when constituted on an 
eternal basis, without sea, be that many or few. " What a paltry, 
contemptible, few," exclaims one, " compared with the immense mass 
of human flesh and blood, which will have existed on the earth for 
7000 years !" Granted ; but what is needed more than a sufficient 
population for the renovated earth? If this immense mass of 
corruption and sin, living and dead, had listened to the voice of 
reason ; if it would have believed God and obeyed h-im ; an adequate 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 161 

provision would have been made for them ; but they would not, and 
the consequences inevitably follow. The principle is an eternal one. 
It is persistent as God himself; a principle without an exception, and 
as uncompromising as the truth. The case of the thief on the cross 
only establishes the rule. He believed in the kingdom of God, and 
acknowledged Jesus while in his lowest estate, as " King of the Jews," 
and therefore future monarch of the nation. He was by constitution 
one of " the children of the kingdom," 1 though he had proved him- 
self a very disreputable citizen. It was only necessary in his case, 
that his faith, and change of mind and disposition, should be counted 
to him for repentance and remission of sins ; for without this he 
could not enter the kingdom of God. The Lord Jesus, who then 
alone upon the earth had power to forgive sins, granted his petition ; 
and so constituted him an heir of the righteousness which is by faith 
in the gospel of the kingdom. The case of the thief was unique, and 
one to which there has been none like before or since. 

It is proved, then, that the revealed mystery of God's will, which 
he has purposed in his own mind, is first to found a kingdom and 
empire of nations, which he mill bestow on the crucified and resur- 
rected King of the Jews ; and upon all those who believe the doctrine, 
or word, concerning it, and become obedient to the faith: and secondly, 
at the end of 700'J years from the foundation of the world, to reno- 
vate the globe ; and to people it with immortal men '• equal to the 
angels," who shall all have attained to the eternal state^ and to the 
possession of all its transcendant glories, on the principle of believing 
his " exceeding great and precious promises,'* and of lovingly and 
voluntarily obeying his laws. 

Behold, then, the conclusion of the matter. There are two sys- 
tems, or worlds ; the one, the animal and natural ; the other, the 
spiritual and incorruptible ; and between these a mixed state, being 
partly animal and partly spiritual, which may be termed the transition 
state. Out of the natural system, as the materials and scaffolding of 
the building, God purposes to elaborate " the ages of the ages" with 
all that &hall pertain to them. Thus constituted, the globe will 
become a glorious province of the universe, and a new imperial 
abode of the Divine Majesty. It will then be a sealess 2 and luminous 
sphere ; and peopled with myriads of inhabitants of equal rank and 
station with the angels of God. The means by which from the 
beginning he determined to accomplish this magnificent work, were 
first, by his creative energy to lay the foundation ; secondly, by con- 
stitutional arrangement, and angelic oversight, which men term 
" providence," to shape, and overrule all things, so as to work out the 
end proposed ; thirdly, by the moral force of truth, argued and 
attested ; fourthly, by judicial interference in human affairs ; and 
lastly, by recreative energy in the renovation of the earth. When 
the gigantic work is perfected, the edifice will be complete ; and the 
top stone imposed with joyous acclamations, saying, " Grace ! grace 
unto it !" 

i Mat* riii. 12. » Rev. xxi. 1. 



162 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

DISSERTATION ON THE ELOHIM. 

The principles of universal grammar require in general, that a 
" verb agree with its nominative in number and person;" as, the spirit 
moves, the waters roar. Here, the spirit is of the singular number, 
and third person; and so is the verb moves; hence they agree in 
number and person : f* the waters" is of the third person plural, and 
so is roar; hence they also agree. But, in the first chapter of 
Genesis, this rule appears to be disregarded by the spirit, under whose 
guidance Moses wrote. In the first verse it reads, bcrayshith bara 
Elohim ayth, i. e. in the beginning Elohim created. In this sentence 
bara is the verb in the third person singular, and Elohim a noun in 
the third person plural ; so that they do not agree according to the 
rule. For an agreement to ensue, either the noun should be eloh, or 
el y in the singular, or it should remain as it is in the plural, and the 
verb should be changed to barau ; as, barau elohim (they) created. 
But it does not stand thus ; it reads literally (the) Elohim (he) created. 

Speaking of Elohim, Dr. Wilson says, "that this noun, which is 
not unintentionally here joined with the singular verb bara, is, never- 
theless, really plural, appears not merely from its termination im, but 
by its being frequently joined with adjectives, pronouns, and verbs in 
the plural. Wyyomer Elohim nashah adam betzalmai-nu, i. e. 
Elohim said, ' Let us make man in our image/ " Mr. Parkhurst, in 
his lexicon under the word alah, cites many passages where Elohim 
is associated with other plurals. Upon close examination there will 
be found no good reason to question the conclusion, that Elohim is a 
noun plural, and signifies "gods/' and ought to be so rendered 
throughout this chapter. 

But, why the plural Elohim, gods, should have been associated 
with a singular verb in this chapter, Hebraists have been much per- 
plexed to answer satisfactorily to themselves, or others. Grammar 
failing, they have had recourse to dogmatism to explain the difficulty. 
Dr. Wilson truly remarks, that " Elohim is not unintentionally here 
joined with the singular verb ;" though in my opinion Messrs. 
Wilson and Parkhurst have widely mistaken the intention. They 
imagine that it was intended to reveal a trinity of persons in one 
essence, or, as some express it, " society in God." Dr. Wilson 
observes that " Let us mahe man is an expression of consultation, and 
marks a difference in man's creation from that of other creatures in 
point of importance. ' Let us make man' regards the animal nature ; 
* in our image/ denotes his spiritual nature, which alone could resem- 
ble the Deity. * Let us make/ etc. * in our image, after our likeness/ 
Here is the plurality three times expressed, and that in the first 
person; a manifest agreement with, and proof of, the scriptural doc- 
trine of a plurality of the Deity, to which, as God is one in essence, 
we give the name of persons." 

Elohim "a name," says Parkhurst, "usually given in the Hebrew 
scriptures to the ever-blessed Trinity." He wrote a pamphlet against 
Dr. Priestly and Mr. Wakefield to prove a plurality of Elohim in 
Jehovah ! If the reader understand who the Elohim are, this will 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 163 

appear an extraordinary instance of learned ignorance and folly. It 
is equal to undertaking to prove, that there are three princes in one 
king ; or three angels in an archangel In one thing, however, I 
agree with him entirely, namely, that a plurality of agents is denoted 
in the Mosaic history of the terrestrial creation. By faith we 
understand that the spirit, or word, operated in, by, and through 
them, in the formation of all things terrestrial ; but that all the?e 
agents were in the divine essence, constituting '* society in God," is 
too great a camel for my power of deglutition. 

A first principle with me in all reasonings upon this subject is, that 
" there is one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through 
all, and in all " his spiritual family. Another axiom is, that u He is 
the blessed and Only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of 
lords ; who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no 
man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can 
see" 1 And again, "God is Spirit;" 2 and He is " incorruptible."" 3 
The Incorruptible Spirit dwelling in light is the scripture 
revelation of the undefinable essence of the self-existent Eternal One, who 
is from everlasting to everlasting, God. What his essence consists in, 
he has not revealed ; he has made known to us his name, or charac- 
ter, which is enough for men to know ; but to say, that, because he 
is a spirit, he is therefore " immaterial," is to speak arrant nonsense ; 
for immateriality is nothingness; a quality, if we may so speak, alien 
to the universe of God. 

*' No man," says Jesus, " hath seen God at any time;" but Adam, 
Abraham, Jacob, and Moses, saw the Elohim and their Lord ; there- 
fore Elohim and the Everlasting Father are not the same. 

Elohim is a name bestowed on angels and orders of men. It is 
written, " worship Him all Elohim." 4 This is quoted by Paul in 
the first chapter of Hebrews, as a command of the Everlasting 
Father to the angels, that they should do homage to the Lord Jesus 
as his Son, when he shall introduce Him into the world again at the 
opening of the Future Age. It is also written concerning him,, 
" thou hast made him a little lower than the Elohim." Paul applies 
this to Jesus, saying, " we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than 
the angels." He continued inferior to them a little upwards of thirty 
years, from his birth of the flesh to his resurrection ; when he was 
exalted far above them in rank and dignity, even to the " right hand 
of power," which is enthroned in light, where dwells the Majesty in 
the heavens. 

Those to whom the word of God came through Moses are styled 
Elohim, as it is written, " I have said ye are Elohim ; and all of you 
children of the Most High ; but ye shall die like men, and fall like 
one of the princes." 5 u Thou shalt not revile the Elohim, nor curse 
the Ruler of thy people;" 6 that is, thou shalt not revile the magis- 
trates, nor curse the high priest, or king. 7 

Furthermore, it is a well established principle of the sacred 
writings, that what the Everlasting Father does by his agents, he is 

' 1 Tim, vi. 15 ; i. 17. 2 John iv. 24. 3 Rom. i. 23. * Psalm xcvii. 7. * Psalm Ixxxii. 6 ; 
John x. 34. « Exod. xxiii. 28. ' Acts xxii. 5. 

i2 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

considered as doing by himself. There is a maxim in law similar to 
this which runs somehow thus, qui facit per alios, facit per se, what 
one doth by, or through, others, he does of himself. If this be borne 
in mind, many seeming incongruities will be harmonized. Thus, the 
Lord is said to have appeared to Abraham, as he sat in his tent- 
door j 1 but when he first caught sight of the visitant, he did not see 
the Lord, but " three men," or Elohim, of whom one was the chief. 
Read the whole chapter and to verse twenty-nine of the next, and it 
will be seen, that the Everlasting God talks and acts by, or through, 
these Elohim, but chiefly through one of them, styled the Lord God. 

In another place, God is said to appear to Jacob, 2 and in the 
second verse to say to him, "I am God Almighty;" and in the 
thirteenth, " God went up from him in the place where he talked 
with him." He was then at Bethel, where formerly " the Elohim 
were revealed unto him." On that occasion he dreamed that he saw 
a ladder reaching from earth to heaven, " the Lord standing above it, 
and the angels of God ascending and descending on it." These 
angels were the Elohim, or "ministering Spirits sent forth to minister 
for them who shall be heirs of salvation." 3 On one occasion they 
declared to Jacob the promises made to his father and grand-father 
in the name of the " Invisible God ;" he wrestled with God in wrest- 
ling with one of them, &c. Hence, they speak in the first person as 
personators of the Invisible and Incorruptible Substance, or Spirit, 
who is the real author of all they say and do. 

On a certain occasion, the Invisible God spake to Job out of iha 
whirlwind and said, " Where wast thou when I laid the foundation of 
the earth ? Declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid 
the measures thereof? declare if thou knowest. Or, who hath 
stretched the line upon it ? Or, who laid the corner-stone thereof: 
when the Morning Stars sang together, and all the so?is of God 
shouted for joy ?" Job could not answer these questions. He knew, 
doubtless, what the Elohim had done ; but " touching the Almighty," 
by whose Spirit they operated, " we cannot," said Elihu, " find him 
out." The Elohim were these Morning Stars and Sons of God. 
Jesus is styled " the Bright and the Morning Star," " the Day Star," 
and the Son of God. To say, therefore, that the Elohim are Morn- 
ing Stars and Sons of God, is to speak in the language of scripture. 

The relation of the Elohim to Him that dwelleth in the light in 
the work of creation and providence, may better appear by the 
following illustration. Experimental philosophers can form water, 
air, and earths ; they can bring down lightning from the expanse ; 
they can weigh, or rather, calculate the weight of, the sun, moon, 
and stars ; they can speak by electricity ; paint by sunlight ; and out- 
strip the wind by fire. These are wonderful combinations of their 
genius. But what have these they did not receive? And from 
whom did they receive it ? They subject certain substances to certain 
conditions. They do not originate a single principle. The elements, 
and the laws to which all simple and compound bodies are subject, 
are independent of the experimenters. They may say " Let water l*e 

■ Gen. xviii. 1. - Gen. xxxv. 9. 3 Heb. i. 14. 



KUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 165 

formed ;" and by passing the electric spark through the gaseous mix- 
ture, water will be formed ; but it is the power of God that doth it, 
and not their's. After a like manner, the Elohim gave the word ; 
they brought the latent elements of the globe into play ; they gave 
direction and application to power ; and the Spirit of the Invisible 
God accomplished all they were commanded to arrange. The Spirit 
of the Incorruptible God through the Elohim created the heavens 
and the earth. They said, " Let there be light f' they saw that it 
was good ; lie made the expanse ; they called it heaven : — He did it 
all through them ; and they executed by his power what He enjoined. 
This power, or Spirit, being committed to them, it became " the 
Spirit of the Elohim " Hence, in the beginning, the Spirit of the 
Elohim created ; which being plainly indicated in the second verse of 
the first chapter of Genesis, needed not afterwards to be repeated ; 
so that throughout the chapter, " Elohim " is written instead of " the 
Spirit of the Elohim/' and is found in connection with a singular 
verb, not as its nominative, but as the governed word of the nomina- 
tive singular, ruach, Spirit understood. This is the solution I offer of 
this grammatical enigma. 

It is a part of the " strong delusion " which has supplanted the 
truth, to suppose that the Invisible God left the throne of the universe 
on a visit to this region of immensity, where, like a mechanic build- 
ing a house, he worked in creating the earth and all things therein. 
After this fashion he is supposed to have made man ; and when his 
mechanism was complete, to have applied his mouth to his nostrils, 
and " breathed into him a particle of his own divine essence, by which 
he became a living and immortal soul." Such a procedure on the 
part of the " Only Potentate," whose abode is in the light, and whose 
servants, the Elohim, are innumerable, would have been unfitting his 
dignity and underived exaltation. He has revealed himself to us as 
a Potentate, a King, a Lord, &c. ; now, they who fill these stations, 
commit to others the service of executing their will and pleasure. 
And thus it is with the Invisible and Eternal Potentate. His king- 
dom ruleth over all. His angels, or Elohim, mighty in strength, do 
his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his words. They 
are his hosts ; his ministers, that do his pleasure. 1 

In the light of this revelation I understand the Mosaic record of 
the creation. It pleased the King Eternal nearly six thousand years 
ago, to add a new habitable province to his dominion ; not by an 
original creation of a globe, but by the re-constitution of one already 
existing as one of the solar planets. He commanded his angels to go 
and execute the work according to the order detailed by Moses. 
They hearkened unto the voice of his word; and in six days 
finished all they were commanded to do. But, without his power 
they could have effected nothing : therefore, in the history all things 
are referred to Him. He willed ; the Elohim executed by his 
Spirit. 

All the lower animals are more or less observant ; but the Serpent 
was the most so of all the Lord of the Elohim had made. It noted 

1 Psalm ciii. 19— 21. 



166 RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 

the objects around it, and among these observed the "gods" or 
'' Morning Stars and Sons of God," to whom it told Eve she should 
b» like, if she ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil. 
In the Hebrew, the word rendered " gods " is Elohim, the same as 
occurs throughout the first chapter. From what other source but the 
sight of its eyes, unless by divine inspiration, could the serpent have 
derived information about the " gods ?" It spoke of what it had 
seen and heard. But the animals were still without a king ; there- 
fore, said the Chief of the Elohim, "let us make man in our image." 
There was none like the Elohim of all the creatures they had made; 
therefore, they determined to make an animal after their form. They 
shaped him with head, limbs, and body, like their own ; so that he 
stood before them the earthly image of the celestial Elohim. As 
much their image as Seth was the image of his father, Adam. 1 

We have not said that man's likeness to the Elohim consisted in 
his being " very good ;" but that the Spirit of God formed him " very 
good " in the same sense that it formed all other animals so. They 
were without character ; so was he : his goodness was physical, not 
moral ; that of the Elohim was both. 

Yet, in a certain sense, man was formed in the likeness of the 
Elohim. This likeness, we have already shown, but may repeat 
here, consisted in the man's ability to manifest mental 'pheno- 
mena like their s ; and in his susceptibility of an exaltation to their 
naturae and rank, upon the same principles as they had attained 
thereto. By this similitr.de he was distinguished from all the other 
animals they had formed. He was constituted like to the Elohim, 
though of inferior nature. He could manifest intellect and disposi- 
tion even as they ; and he could know evil as they had done. 

Dr. Wilson observes, that the phrase " i Let us make man' is an 
expression of consultation, and marks a difference in man's creation 
from that of other creatures, in point of importance." To this I 
have no objection, and I believe that the " subtle serpent " over- 
heard the consultation, and was, therefore, able to tell Eve, that there 
was a particular in which she should be like the Elohim, ka-elohim, 
by eating the fruit, in which she could not resemble them unless she 
did eat, viz. in " knowing good and evil." In this point, man was 
unlike the Elohim when pronounced " very good." Nor was this 
item of the temptation a falsehood ; for the Lord of the Elohim said 
to his celestial companions, " Behold, the man hath become as one of 
us, to know good and evil." 2 In this, then, the man became still 
more like the Elohim ; and in this likeness he hath continued ever 
since. But thanks to the Invisible God and Father of the saints, 
man is placed under a law of progression. His prototype has gone 
before. He was himself made " a little lower than the Elohim ;" 
for he took not upon him their nature, but assumed that of the seed 
&f Abraham. — His nature, however, is now like theirs, being 
spiritual, that is, incorruptible and immortal. " We shall be 
like him," says John ; hence, also " equal to the angels," as Jesus 
hath himself affirmed. 3 

I Gen. ▼. S. * Gen. iiL S8. « Luke xx. 38. 



RUDIMENTS OF THE WORLD. 167 

The Arch-Elohim said that the man had become like one of them- 
selves in the matter of knowing good and evil. This also is an argu- 
ment for his likeness to a plurality of persons ; and it further shows, 
that the Elohim were once in a condition similar to man after he had 
transgressed. The Lord of the Elohim himself declares, that they also 
had been experimentally sensible of evil, for this is the idea expressed 
by the Hebrew word yada, to know, which the LXX translate by 
tifew eidco. In short, it is credible that none of the Elohim of the only 
Potentate's dominion were created immortal ; but earthly, or animal, 
like Adam. The eternal King is the only being who is originally 
immortal in any sense, hence it is written, that " he only hath immor- 
tality." The immortality of all other intelligences is derived from 
Him as a reward for the " obedience of faith." Just men at the re- 
surrection of the First Fruits will be equal to Elohim. Shall we say, 
that these " Morning Stars and Sons of God " did not attain to the 
spiritual nature by a progression similar to man; seeing that He "who 
was made so much better than they " even Jesus, the " Bright and the 
Morning Star," was " made perfect through sufferings?" Have they 
had no trials to endure ; no probation to pass through for the refining 
of their faith as gold is tried ? It is credible rather, that they were 
once animal men of other spheres ; that in a former state, they were 
" made subject to vanity not willingly ; " that while in the flesh they 
believed and obeyed God with the self-sacrificing disposition after- 
wards evinced by- Abraham ; that their faith was counted to them for 
righteousness ; that they succumbed to death as mortal men ; that 
they rose from the dead, and so attained to incorruptibility and immor- 
tality as the Elohim of the Invisible God. Our mundane system is but 
the pattern of things in other worlds, which, may ere this have attained 
to that perfection which awaits the earth ; and probably an illustra- 
tion of what may even now obtain in other planets where the inhabi- 
tants have not yet progressed beyond the animal and probationary era 
of their history. Our angels, or Elohim, those I mean of the heavenly 
hosts, to whose superintendence terrestrial affairs are consigned, until 
the Lord Jesus shall assume the reins of government ; not all the 
Elohim, but those of them related to us, w always behold the face of 
God," and minister his will towards the sons of men. This is their 
glory — a part of their reward. He sent them to form and fill the 
earth with living souls. They executed their commission according to 
his purpose. Behold then the consummation. Mortal and corruptible 
beings like ourselves become Elohim, mighty in strength, and framers 
of new worlds, of which the planet we inhabit, even in its present state, 
is a grand and glorious specimen. " Behold," says Jesus, once an 
infant at the breast, powerless in death, but now endued with all 
power, u I make all things 71670." He will educe from the things 
which exist, a new and magnificent world, as a fit and appropriate 
habitation for his companions, redeemed by his blood from the sons of 
men. This is the destiny set before those who shall become '* equal to 
the angels " by a resurrection to eternal life. 



AN EXPOSITION 

&C, &C. 



$art Second. 

THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD, AND THE NAME OF JESUS 

CHRIST. 



CHAPTER I. 

The truth indicated. — None but the believers of the truth can inherit the Kingdom of 
God. — Abraham "the Heir of the World."— To inherit with him, men must be- 
lieve what he believed; and become his children by adoption through Jesus 
Christ. — The Gospel and the things of the Kingdom one and the same. — It was 
preached to Abraham, Israel, and the Gentiles, by the Lord God, by Moses, 
by Jesus, and by the Apostles- — Gospel things susceptible of a threefold classi- 
fication. — The Keys of the Kingdom. — Intrusted only to Peter —The Mystery 
of the Kingdom.— The Fellowship of the Mystery. — " Apostolic Succession." — ■ 
Qualifications of an apostle of Christ. — Import of the phrase "the end of the 
world." — " The sign" of its approach. — The Gospel preached to every creature 
by the Apostles. — Modern missionary ism inadequate to the end proposed 



In the former part of this work, I have shown that it has been the 
purpose of God from the foundation of the world, to set up a kingdom 
and empire of nations, which shall supersede all others previously ex- 
isting upon the globe. We have now arrived at that part of our sub- 
ject which relates to the development of this imperial constitution of 
the world, which when brought to the birth, will have occupied six 
days of a thousand years each in its formation. No topic can surpass 
this in interest and importance to every man that breathes the breath 
of life. God has made the belief of the things concerning it a condi- 
tion of partaking in the glory, honor, and incorruptibility, which be- 
long to it. Whatever ignorance may be overlooked, ignorance of the 
things pertaining to this kingdom alienates men from the life of God. 
This is equivalent to saying, that no man can attain to eternal life who 
does not believe the gospel ; for the subject matter of the gospel is this 
very kingdom which it is the purpose of God to establish for the Son 
of Man and the saints. 

It is of primary importance that we believe the truth, and not a 
substitute for it ; for it is by the truth only we can be saved ; " the 
truth as it is in Jesus," neither more nor less, is that to which our 
attention is invited in the word. " The truth " is set forth in the law 
and the prophets ; but we must add to these, the apostolic testimony con- 
tained in the New Testament, if we would comprehend it " as it is in 
Jesvs." The kingdom is the subject matter of " the truth ;" but " as 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 1U9 

5t is in Jesus," is the truth concerning him as the king and supremo 
pontiff of the dominion ; and the things concerning his name, as taught 
in the doctrine of the apostles. As a whole " the truth " is defined as 
" the things concerning the Kingdom of God and the Name of Jesus 
Christ." l This phrase covers the entire ground upon which the " one 
faith" and the " one hope" of the gospel are based ; so that if a man 
believe only the " things of the kingdom" his faith is defective in the 
" things of the name ; " or, if his belief be confined to the u things of 
the name," it is deficient in the " things of the kingdom." There can 
be no separation of them recognised in a " like precious faith " " to 
that of the apostles. They believed and taught all these things ; God 
hath joined them together, and no man need expect his favour who 
separates them ; or abolishes the necessity of believing the things he 
has revealed for faith. 

There can be no doubt of the truth of these statements in view of 
Paul's emphatic declaration that, " though we (apostles) or an angel 
from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than that which we have 
preached unto you, let him he accursed. As we said before, so say I 
now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye 
have received, let him be accursed." 3 Here, then, he pronounces a 
curse upon even an angel, if he should come and offer to us any other 
gospel than that which was preached by himself and the other apostles. 
It is our wdsdom, therefore, to receive nothing which has not the 
sanction of their authority. Paul styles every thing else but what 
he preached, " another gospel," that is, " a perversion of the gospel 
of Christ ;" and as we can only be saved by belief of the truth, such 
a gospel is both useless and injurious. 

"Gospel" is a word which signifies good news, or glad tidings; 
and the gospel some particular good news. " Blessed," say the scrip- 
tures, "are they who know the joyful sound" or the gospel ; and the 
reason is, because it makes known the " blessedness " which is to 
come upon the nations, and will give every one an interest in it who 
believes and accepts it. The gospel of God is the good news of 
blessedness promised in the scriptures of the prophets; and summarily 
expressed in the saying, " In thee, Abraham, shall all nations of the 
earth be blessed." The making of this promise to Abraham is termed 
by Paul, the preaching of the gospel to Abraham ; for, says he, 
" the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through 
faith preached before the gospel to Abraham, saying, ' in thee shall 
all nations be blessed.' " 4 This, he styles " the blessing of Abraham," 
which is to come upon the nations through Jesus Christ. Abraham 
holds a conspicuous place in relation to the blessedness of the gospel. 
He is named by Paul six times in the third chapter of Galatians, 
which he concludes by saying, "if ye be Christ's, then are ye 
Abrahams seed and heirs according to the promise." Hence, men 
are required to be Christ's that they may be Abraham's seed. But 
why is it so important to be of the seed of Abraham ? For the very 
obvious reason, that as the promise was made to Abraham, it is only 
by being constitutionally " in him" that any son of Adam can obtain 
a participation in what belongs to Abraham. 

« Acts viii. 12. ' 2 Pet. i. 1. » Gal. i, 8. « Gal iii. 8. 



170 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

This idea may be illustrated by reference to the law of inheritance 
among all civilized people. If a man be possessed of an estate, the 
members of his family alone have any right to it at his decease. 
Though all the world may be his friends, unless they are named in 
his will, they can have no part in the inheritance he may leave 
behind. And again, if he have no heir, his estate and property would 
escheat to the lord of wh >m he happened to hold his title ; but, to 
avoid this, it would be ^uite competent for him to adopt an heir 
according to the law. The person so adopted would become his seed 
in every respect save that of natural birth. In the case before us, 
God hath promised an estate to Abraham ; therefore he is styled 
" the heir of the world " (Koafios) — that is, of the glory, honor, 
and power, of the nations throughout the globe in their millennial 
blessedness — a giit worthy of Him that hath promised it. Now the 
promise of this to Abraham and his seed, is a promise to no one else. 
No stranger can lay claim to it. He must be Abraham's seed, or 
he has no right to Abraham's property. On this principle, no one 
who is not a lineal, or fleshly, descendant of Abraham can inherit 
the world with him when God fulfils the promise. This is the view 
taken of the matter by the Jews, who found their hope of participa- 
tion in the world when it becomes Abraham's and his seed's, upon 
the acknowledged fact, that they are Abraham's flesh and blood. 
This would be very well, if no other condition of inheritance were 
specified. But the word saith, that " the children of the flesh are 
not the children of God ; but the children of the promise (those who 
believe it) are counted for the seed." 1 If the children of the flesh 
had a right to share with Abraham when he obtains possession of the 
world which God has promised him, then all descended from Ishmael 
and Esau, his son and grandson, as well as from Isaac, would have 
equal rights. But God, who not only promises the estate, but speci- 
fies the conditions of heirship, has restricted the inheritance to those 
termed the " children of the promise as Isaac was." 2 He has pro- 
claimed the great truth that " the son of the bond- woman shall not 
be heir with the son of the free-woman." 3 To be a son of the free- 
woman, a man, although a Jew, must believe in the promise made to 
Abraham ; he must be of a like disposition with Abraham ; he must 
be obedient like Abraham ; he must have faith in Jesus as the seed 
of Abraham associated with him in the promise ; he must believe in 
his name ; he must be constitutionally inducted into Christ by 
immersion into the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit : — being the subject 
of these conditions he is included in the Family of God, to whose 
members it is said, " ye are all the children of God in Christ Jesus 
through the faith. For as many of you as have been baptized into 
Christ have put on Christ. There is no distinction of Jew or 
Gentile, bond, or free, male, or female, among you : for ye are all 
one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's 
seed, and heirs according to the promise." 4 These are the children 
of the promise, the children of God, the brethren and joint-heirs of 
Jesus Christ, the sons of the free woman, and Abraham, Isaac, and 

i Rom. i». 8. » Gal. It. 28. » Gal. It. 80. * Gal. iii. 28. 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 171 

Jacob's seed, who are alone entitled to possess the world with 
him. 

Jesus came to preach the gospel. " The Spirit of the Lord," saith 
he, " is upon me, because He hath anointed me to preach the gospel 
to the poor ; and to preach the acceptable year of the Lord." 1 It is 
admitted, then, that Jesus fulfilled his mission ; consequently, in his 
proclamation, he preached the good news of the acceptable season, or 
blessed era of the Lord. But, what was the great focal truth of 
this acceptable year ? Let Jesus answer the question in his own 
words ; " I must preach the kingdom of God ; for therefore am I 
sent ;" c and so much did he preach about this kingdom, that the 
people became impatient, and sought to take him by force and make 
him King. But he would not permit it ; " and because they thought 
that the kingdom of God was immediately to appear, he spake a 
parable to them," in which he gave them to understand, that he 
must first take a journey into a far country to be presented before the 
Ancient of Days to receive from Him the kingdom, and then to 
return ; when he would bestow upon his servants power and authority 
over the cities of the world. 3 According to this arrangement, Jesus 
rose from the dead and took his departure; when he ascended to the 
right hand of the Majesty in the heavens, where he is now. He has 
not yet received the kingdom, glory, and dominion, or he would have 
already returned. He is waiting for this, " sitting at the right hand 
of God until his foes are made his footstool." 4 He will then appear 
in his kingdom and rule as King over all the earth. 

The gospel, then, was preached to Abraham by the angel of the 
Lord ; and it was preached by Jesus to his own nation, and to them 
only; for "he was not sent, save to the lost sheep of the house of 
Israel." 5 Paul also declares that it was preached to that generation 
of Israelites whose carcasses fell in the wilderness ; but it did not 
profit them because they did not believe it. 6 Therefore, God sware in 
his wrath that they should not enter into the rest it proclaimed. 7 
Before he suffered on the accursed tree, Jesus sent his apostles, and 
seventy others throughout the land, to "preach the kingdom of God." 
In recording their obedience to his command, Luke says, " they want 
through the towns preaching the gospel;"* so that it is clear, that to 
preach the kingdom is to preach the gospel ; and to preach the gospel 
is to preach the kingdom of God. 

This is a most important demonstration ; for it enables us to deter- 
mine when we hear the gospel. The gospel is not preached when 
the things of the kingdom are omitted. And this is one grand defect 
in modern preaching. Either there is nothing said about the king- 
dom ; or a kingdom is preached which is a mere matter of specula- 
tion : a kingdom of heaven in principle, in the hearts of men, or 
somewhere beyond the skies ! But, the gospel does not treat of such 
a kingdom as this; a mere fiction indoctrinated into men's minds by 
" the cunning craftiness of those who lie in wait to deceive." So 
inseparable is the idea of gospel from that of kingdom, that we find 

1 Lute ir. 19. * Luke iv. 43. s Dan. vii. 13, 14; Luke xix. II — 17; Dan. vii. 18, 27. * Ps.cx. 1. 
* Matt. xv. 24. 6 Heb. iv. 2. I Heb. iii. 18, 19. • Luke ix. 2, 6. 



172 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD 

them, not only substituted for each other, but associated together as 
terms of explanation. Thus, " Jesus went throughout every city and 
village, preaching and showing the glad tidings of the kingdom o) 
God;'' 1 and in the prophecy of Mount Olivet, it is written, "this 
gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the habitable (tv6\ v 
oiKovfisvii Roman empire) for a testimony to all the nations ; and then 
shall come the end." 2 After he rose from the dead, he commanded 
the apostles, saying, " go preach the gospel to every creature : he that 
believes and is immersed shall be saved ; and he that believes not 
shall be condemned;" and " lo, I am with you all the days 
(7r«<ras ras jfyiEpas) until the end of the world." In view of these texts, 
can any one be so mystified as not to see, that salvation is predicated 
on believing the gospel of the kingdom, and being baptized into 
Jesus Christ? They were to preach " this gospel of the kingdom " 
in the name of Jesus ; how did they execute the work ? " They 
went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, 
and confirming the word with signs following." 3 They began at 
Jerusalem, passed throughout Judea ; then went to Samaria, and 
lastly, to the end of the land (i^xa-rov t?j? y»js). They began on the 
day of Pentecost, and preached only to the Jews for several years ; 
at the end of which, Peter and Paul began to proclaim the kingdom 
to Gentiles also. The labors of ihe apostles were indefatigable. 
They filled the Roman empire with their doctrine ; and made such 
an impression upon it, that tumults were excited; and they were 
charged with treason against the state, because they proclaimed 
another king than Caesar ; 4 who should rule the world in righteous- 
ness 4 as the sovereign Lord of all the earth. " They spake the word 
of God with boldness." "The multitude of them that believed were 
of one >icart and of one soul ;'' and great kindness was among them 
all. In about thirty years the gospel of the kingdom was proclaimed 
in all the world, to every creature under the heaven. 5 They finished 
their work, and fell asleep ; the Lord having abundantly fulfilled his 
promise of co-operating with them to the end of the world. 

Thus, the same gospel that was preached to Abraham, was preached 
also to Jews and Gentiles by the apostles after the ascension of Jesus 
to the right hand of power. There was, however, this difference ; 
when it was preached to Abraham, and to the generation which 
perished in the Wilderness, it was altogether a matter of promise ; 
but when preached by the apostles to the Roman nations some things 
connectedwith the promise were fulfilled : so that, the gospel of the king- 
dom as they preached it, was partly a matter of promise, partly a mat- 
ter of history, and partly doctrinal. It was thus presented to mankind 
in a threefold point of view, which may be stated in this form : — 

I. Promises to be fulfilled ; or, things concerning the kingdom of 
God: 

II. Promises fulfilled already ; or, things concerning Jesus: 

III. The doctrinal import of the fulfilled promises ; or, things 
concerning his Name. 

A man might believe all the promises and their doctrinal import, 

I Luke viii. 1 ; Mark i. 14. ' Matt. xxiv. 14. 3 Mark xvi. 20. * Acts xvii. 7, 31. * Col. i. R, 23 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 173 

but if he did not believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the subject of 
them, he would make a very good believing Jew under the law, bur 
he would not be a Christian under grace. This is the great turning 
point in the faith of an enlightened Jew, and Christian. Is Jesus of 
Nazareth the personage described in the law and the prophets ; has 
he right and title to the throne of David, and to the dominion of the 
world ? The Jew says, " no ; we look for another :" but the Christian 
replies, " he unquestionably is the person : we look for no other ; but 
assuredly expect the re-appearance of ' this same Jesus' on earth, to 
restore the throne and kingdom of David ; to occupy them as the 
King of the Jews ; and to be the Melchizedec High Priest and Ruler 
of the nations." Hence, it is the foundation truth of the gospel of the 
kingdom, that Jesus of Nazareth is the Anointed King, and Son of 
the living God. He is the Rock, or Strength, of Israel ; whose 
power will never be restored till He sits upon the throne of their 
kingdom, and is acknowledged as King by the nation. 

On the other hand, a man may believe that Jesus is the Son of 
God ; that he was sent of God as a messenger to Israel ; that there 
is remission of sins through the shedding of his blood ; that he is the 
saviour; and that he rose from the dead : — if he believe these things, 
but be ignorant, and consequent!}' faithless, of \* the things of the 
kingdom," he cannot obtain glory, honor, incorruptibility, and lite 
in that kingdom. The condition of salvation is the belief of the 
whole gospel and obedience to it. It is not, " he that believes in Jesus 
Christ, and is immersed shall be saved ;" but " he who shall believe 
the gospel, and is immersed." 1 Simply to believe in Jesus is to 
believe no more than in "the messenger;" but, he was sent to 
preach the gospel to the poor; to show the glad tidings of the kingdom 
of God : this was his message, the message of God to the Jew first, 
and afterwards to the Greek. Let it be remembered then, that 
salvation is predicated upon belief in ihe messenger and in the 
message he brings from God. The unhappy condition of the pro- 
fessing world at the present time is, that they have no faith in the 
message of God ; but rather ridicule it, and heap insult upon those 
who contend for it. '• I came to preach the kingdom of God," says 
Jesus. ''Oh! we believe that thou earnest from God, because no man 
could do the miracles thou doest unless God were with him : but we 
do not believe a word in a kingdom in Judea under thy rule. We 
have no idea of thy coming to this cursed earth again to reign in 
Jerusalem ; and to sit as a priest upon a throne there. This is nothing 
but the day dream of those who take thy words, and the sayings of 
the prophets, as if they were to be understood in the carnal, or literal 
sense. It would be derogatory to the interests of God to suppose, or 
desire such a consummation. No, no ; we believe thou art at the 
right hand of the Majesty in the heavens, now reigning over mankind ; 
that we are thy ministers and ambassadors on earth ; and that in 
enriching us, the world is giving its substance and doing homage to 
thee; and that when we di* we shall come to thee, and kingdoms 
rule beyond the skies ! Ou churches are thy kingdom here ; and it 

Mark xvi. 15, 16. 



174 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

is our deep and pious conviction, that the more they confide in us, 
and the less they trouble themselves about the millennium, the better 
it will be for them; and for the peace of the denominations to which they 
belong." This is in effect the language of the religious leaders of the 
world ; and of those who surrender their understandings to the traditions 
with which they make of none effect the " word of the kingdom of 
God." But these traditions are sheer nonsense, and without the least 
foundation in the scriptures. They belong to a dark and foolish 
generation; and find their origin in the speculations of men of corrupt 
minds and reprobate concerning the faith. 

When the apostles preached on the day of Pentecost, they announced 
that God had raised up Jesus to sit upon the throne of David. 1 In 
the porch of the temple they told the Jews, that God would send 
Jesus Christ to them at the time of the restitution. 2 When Philip 
preached the word concerning Christ to the Samaritans, he announced 
"the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus 
Christ." 3 In the convention of the apostles and elders, James invited 
their attention to Peter's narrative and the prediction of Amos. He 
stated that the work to be done was to take out of the nations a 
people for the name of God, as it is written, "after this / will 
return, and raise up the dwelling place of David that is fallen, and 
close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I 
will build it as in the days of old : that they may possess the remnant 
of Edom, and all the Heathen which are called by my name. And 
I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel, and they shall 
build the waste cities, and inhabit them ; and they shall plant vineyards 
and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the 
fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall 
no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, 
saith the Lord." 4 In Athens, Paul announced that God intended to 
rule the world in righteousness by Jesus Christ ; and that he had raised 
him from the dead as an assurance of its verity. 5 In the Ephesian 
synagogue he disputed for three months, persuading the things con- 
cerning the kingdom of God. 6 Paul stood at the bar of Agrippa, 
and was judged " for the hope of the promise made of God unto the 
fathers; unto which promise the twelve tribes of Israel, instantly 
serving God, day and night, hope to come." 7 Hence, he preached 
the hope of Israel's twelve tribes, as set forth in Amos, and all the 
prophets ; and directed their attention to Jesus as the personage whom 
God had raised up to accomplish their desire. Indeed, he told the 
Jews at Rome plainly, that he was a prisoner in chains on account of 
the hope of Israel ; and in illustration of it, u he expounded and 
testified the kingdom of God, both out of the law of Moses and the 
prophets, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus 
Christ." According to the law and the testimony he spoke, diffusing 
the light of the glorious gospel of the blessed God, for two whole 
years in Rome, u the great city which reigns over the kings of the 
earth." 8 

• Acts ii. 80. » Acts. iii. 21. ' Acts viil. 12. * Act* xt. 14—18 ; Amos ix. 11. « Acts Xviii 31. 
« Acts xix. 8 : xx. 20. 21—25. 27. ' Acta xxvl. 0. 7. » Acts xxviij. 20, 23, 31. 



THE THINOS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 175 

To understand the relations of things, it must be known that the 
gospel stands related to Abraham's descendants before the preaching 
of John the Baptist ; to Israel from John to the day of Pentecost ; 
from this epoch until the calling of the Gentiles ; and then to the Gen- 
tiles at large. " The law and the prophets were until John, then the 
kingdom of God was proclaimed" to Israel by John, Jesus, the 
seventy, and the twelve. There was "a mystery," however, connected 
with the gospel which was not manifested in the proclamation of it 
before the day of Pentecost. The people were taught in parables, but 
the apostles were favored with an interpretation of them in private ; 
for, said Jesus to them, " to you it is given to know the mystery of 
the kingdom of God, but to them it is not given." 1 Referring to this, 
Paul says, " my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ according 
to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the 
world began. But now is made manifest and by the scriptures of 
the prophets made known to all nations for the obedience of faith." 2 
"Pray for me," says he, " that I may open my mouth boldly, to make 
known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in 
bonds." 3 Again, " by revelation God hath made known unto me, 
Paul, the mystery, which in other ages was not made known to the 
sons of men, as it is now revealed unto the holy apostles and prophets 
by the spirit ; that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the 
same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel. 
To me was given to make all men see what is the fellowship of the 
mystery, which from the beginning of the world (a™ n-wv cuwvwvfrom 
the beginning of the ages) hath been hid in God, by whom (™) all 
things were created for Jesus Christ. To the intent that now unto 
the principalities and powers in the high places might be made known 
through the church the multifarious wisdom of God." 4 

From these writings, we learn that the gospel of the kingdom of 
God is a phrase which embraces the whole subject ; and that the 
mystery of the kingdom, and the fellowship of the mystery, are 
things pertaining to the gospel of the kingdom in a special sense, but 
unknown until revealed to the apostles. The mysteries of the kingdom 
were placed on record in the sacred writings ; but their signification 
was hidden from the prophets themselves, until " the keys" thereoi 
were vouchsafed to the apostles. Hence, says Peter, " of the salva- 
tion of souls (xUvxoov) the prophets have inquired and searched 
diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you : 
searching into certain things, («<? two) also what point of time (jcatpov) 
the spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified 
beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. 
Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us 
they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by 
them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Spirit 
sent down from heaven ; which things the angels desire to look 
into."* 

The mystery of the kingdom, then, has been made known, and we 
find that it had relation to the sufferings of the Christ; and repentance, 

' Mark iv. 2; Matt. xiii. II. » Rom. xvi. 25, 28. 3 Eph. vi. 19. * Eph. iii. 3—10. » 1 Pet. 1 — 10. 



176 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

remission of sins y and eternal life in his name, to the Jews first and 
afterwards to the Gentiles. The prophets, who foretold these things, 
were not able to penetrate the mystery of them ; and the angels 
themselves, who brought the word to them, desired to understand 
them. But this was not permitted ; and it was preserved as a secret 
until after the sufferings of Christ, which were to be the foundation of 
the manifestation. 

When the ' point of time " drew nigh for " the finishing of the 
transgression, the making an end of sin-offerings, the making recon- 
ciliation for iniquity, and the bringing in of everlasting righteousness/' 1 
Jesus, who had been anointed the Most Holy, the sealed prophet of 
the Father, and fully confirmed as Messiah the Prince, selected one 
man of the twelve (who had the least reason to exalt himself above 
his brethren as " the prince of the apostles,'') as the depository of 
the keys of the Mysteries of the Kingdom of God. This highly 
honored individual was Simon Peter, son of Jonas, who denied his 
master with oaths and curses. But being converted, and restored to 
favor by his gracious Lord, he was prepared to be the unaspiring 
''servant of the least ;" and to strengthen his brethren in all the trials 
and afflictions they were called upon to endure for the truth's sake. 
* I will give unto thee, Simon Bar-jona," said the king, " the keys 
of the kingdom of God; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth 
shall be bound in heaven ; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth 
shall be loosed in heaven." 2 Here was an appointment of Peter in a 
special sense to the particular function of binding and loosing men on 
earth. But, we would ask any reasonable man, unspoiled by human 
folly and absurdity, if a power be conferred on A, eighteen hundred 
years ago, is it therefore bestowed on B, living eighteen centuries 
after ? The keys were promised to Peter, and not to successors of 
Peter, if it were possible for him to have them in such an office ; 
which none but the most stupidly ignorant of the scriptures would 
venture to affirm. The custody of the keys by a successor of Peter, 
is the most farcical assumption that ever poor crazy mortals were 
guilty of. When we come to see what the keys of the Mysteries of 
the Kingdom of Heaven are, we shall see at once, that the very use 
of them for the first time operates upon Peter's own possession of 
them, as the telling of a secret to all the world does upon his power 
over it afterwards by whom it was told. Had Peter, instead of using 
the keys, hid them till his death-hour, and then imparted them to a 
single person, this individual might truly be said to have "succeeded 
to the keys." But this he did not, dared not, do. He communicated 
them to such multitudes of Jews and Gentiles, that they became the 
common property of the world ; and none but men, " earthly, sensual, 
and devilish " as the priests, " seducing spirits, speaking lies in 
hypocrisy," whose trade it is to "make gain of godliness;" — none 
but such as these would have conceived of the possibility of a transfer 
of the keys of the Mysteries of the kingdom of heaven to a suc- 
cessor ; especially to such a succession of impious impostors as ihc 
prophets of the Roman See. 

' Dan. lx. U. » Mitt. >rf. Iff 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 177 

A key is used in scripture as a symbol of the power of revealing, 
or interpreting, secret things ; also for power in general. As a key 
is to a lock, so is power to things intellectual, moral, and political. 
The scriptures say of Messiah, "the key shall be upon his shoulder," 
i. e. " the government shall be possessed by him." And again, 
" I have," says Jesus, " the key (k\eis) of the unseen (faov) and of 
death ;" which is to say, that Jesus hath the power to open the 
abode, or chamber, of the dead, and to restore them to life. In 
these instances, a key is the symbol of political, and physical, power; 
but it also represents scientific, or knowledge-imparting, power. Thus, 
under the law of Moses, it was divinely appointed that " the priest's 
lips should keep knowledge, and Israel should seek the law at his 
mouth: for he was the messenger of the Lord of Hosts." The 
priests, however, became so corrupt and ignorant, that Israel sought 
in vain for knowledge at their lips, and therefore perished for lack of 
it. The Lord charged this home upon them by the hand of Malachi. 
" Ye are," says he, " departed out of the way, O ye priests ; ye have 
caused many to stumble at the law ; ye have corrupted the covenant 
of Levi, saith the Lord of Hosts. Therefore have I also made you 
contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not 
kept my ways, but have been partial in the law." 1 This was precisely 
the state of things when " the Messenger of the Covenant " 
made his appearance in Judea. He denounced them for their cor- 
ruptions. " Ye have made," said he " the commandment of God of 
none effect by your tradition. Hypocrites that ye are, ye draw nigh 
to God with your mouth, and honor him with your lips, but your 
heart is far from Him. But in vain do ye worship him, teaching for 
doctrines the commandments of men." Among these hypocrites 
were the lawyers, who, feeling the keenness of his reproaches, remon- 
strated against it. But, he turned upon them, and said, " Woe 
unto you, lawyers ! for ye have taken away the key of know- 
ledge : ye enter not in yourselves, and them that were entering in 
ye hindered." 2 

This was the unhappy condition of the Jewish nation at the 
appearing of Jesus ; as it is of all the nations at the present time 
against whom the kingdom is shut by clerical traditions. The Lord 
Jesus came to restore to Israel the key of knowledge. " They erred 
not knowing the scriptures ;" but he was about to open them, so that 
in spite of the hypocrites, they might enter into the kingdom of God. 
O that men could be induced now to devote themselves to the study 
of the scriptures without regard to articles, creeds, confessions, and 
traditions ! These things are mere rubbish ; monuments of the pre- 
sumption and folly of former generations indoctrinated with the 
wisdom from beneath. If a Berean spirit could be infused into 
them ; if they could be persuaded to " search the scriptures daily " 3 
for the truth as for hid treasure ; they would soon leave their spiritual 
guides alone in all their glory of mysticism and patristic lore ; and 
rejoice in the liberty of that truth which can alone make men " free 
indeed." 

« Mai. ti. 7 ' Luke xi. 52. ' Acts xvii. 11, 13. 



178 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

The gospel invites men to enter into the kingdom of God. The 
way of entering is made exceedingly plain in the bible. There i? 
now no hidden mystery concerning it as there was before the suffer- 
ings of Christ were manifested. The mystery of the kingdom has 
been unlocked. The key of knowledge has been given ; but unfor- 
tunately it has been stolen again by Peter's pretended successors; 
and by every other ecclesiastic upon a smaller scale, who would dis- 
courage, or throw hindrances in the way of a free, unbiassed, and 
independent examination and avowal of bible truth in their churches; 
or, an unrestricted advocacy of it, though at variance with the insti- 
tutes of dogmatic theology, in all the pulpits of the land. The leaders 
of the people dare not permit such a course to be pursued ; for the 
bible is hostile to their systems, and sets forth things, which, if 
believed, would empty their rostrums, disperse their flocks, and close 
their doors ; and elaborate such a social revolution, that truth and 
righteousness would triumph in the midst of the earth ; and the 
people be enlightened in the knowledge which comes from God. 
Such a consummation, however, need never be hoped for, so long as 
the instruction and government of the nations are in the hands of the 
existing orders of rulers, lay and ecclesiastical ; for " like priests 
like people," and vice versa; they are corrupt and altogether gone 
out of the way ; and, therefore, are devoid of all power to resuscitate 
the things which remain, and which are ready to vanish away. 

Before a man can enter into the kingdom of God, he must be 
unloosed from his sins in the present state ; and liberated hereafter 
from the prison-house where the dead lie bound in chains of intense 
darkness. The unloosing from sins, Jesus committed to Peter ; but 
the enlargement from the chamber of death, he reserved to himself. 1 
Knowledge is the key to remission, or release from sins, and to an 
entrance into the kingdom of God. No one can enter this kingdom 
in his sins, and destitute of a character approved of God ; and none 
could answer the question, " how can a man obtain the remission of 
sins ; and what kind of a character would God henceforth account 
worthy ? — until the apostle Peter revealed the secret, communicated to 
him by the Spirit, on the day of Pentecost. If the reader peruse 
the second chapter of the Acts he will there learn how Peter used 
one of the keys of the kingdom given to him by its king. On that 
occasion, I say, he used but one of the keys. He revealed the 
mystery of the gospel of God's kingdom to Jews only. They 
believed in the kingdom, glory, and dominion, promised to the Son 
of Man in Daniel and the prophets ; they were well aware that the 
kingdom was to belong to their nation ; that the king was to be 
David's son, and to live for ever ; and that the righteous were to 
take the kingdom with him : these things were the substance of the 
national hope ; but they did not then know upon what conditions 
the obtaining of them was predicated. Hence, it was Peter's duty to 
instruct them. He first recalled to their recollection certain notable 
things concerning Jesus. That the wonders he performed by the 
power of God evidently showed that God approved him ; that they 

' Rev. i. 18; XX. I. 



THE THINGS OP THE KINGDOM OP GCD. 179 

had been guilty of his death in clamoring for his crucifixion ; but 
that all this was predetermined of God ; that God had " loosed him 
from the pains of death" by raising him from the dead. He then 
proceeded to show by their prophets that the things which had thus 
happened to Jesus were verifications of certain predictions. He 
adduced the testimony of David, that the Christ was to be " raised 
up to sit upon David's throne" and consequently, must previously 
suffer death ; and that after he was resurrected, he was to ascend to 
the right hand of God. He then concluded by saying, " let all the 
house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus 
whom ye have crucified, both Lord and King Anointed (Xp«rros.)" 
For the truth of this statement he appealed to what they saw and 
heard ; to the cloven tongues like fire sitting upon their heads, the 
"sound of a rushing mighty wind," and, the many languages spoken 
by Galilean fishermen without previous study. , 

The result of the apostle's reasoning was their conviction that Jesus 
was indeed the King of Israel, even the Shiloh that had been 
promised them for so many ages. They acknowledged him to be the 
" Son whose name should be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the 
Mighty God, the Founder of the Future Age, the Prince of Peace." 1 
This belief, however, also convinced them that, being this great 
personage, they had committed an enormous crime ; and had " killed 
the Prince of Life." Their consciences smote them ; "they had 
denied the Holy and Just One, and desired a murderer before him ;" 
and had imprecated his blood upon themselves and their posterity. Of 
what use was their faith to them in this extremity ? They believed 
in the kingdom, they believed in Jesus, they were penetrated with 
remorse, but still they were conscious only of guilt, and of judgment 
well-deserved. It was yet a hidden mystery to them what should be 
done for pardon of this great transgression. What was " the righteous- 
ness of God'" which he required of them ? Should they go to the 
high priest, and offer a whole burnt offering, and confess their sin? 
This would have been impracticable. Caiaphas Avould have offered 
sacrifice for them upon the altar upon no such confession as this ; for 
in confessing themselves sinners for killing Jesus, s they would have 
charged the high priest as a principal in the crime. To what, or to 
whom, were they to look for a solution of " the mystery ?" Who 
could unlock it, and open to them the door of liberty, and loose them 
from their sins ? Is not the reader prepared to answer, " the Holy 
Spirit alone could reveal to them of righteousness, because Jesus had 
gone to the Father?" 2 This is true ; and the time had arrived to do 
it. But, how, or through what channel, was the spirit to do this ? 
Was it to be by words thundered from heaven ; by a still small voice 
whispering in their ears ; by a feeling that they were forgiven ; by 
words of inspiration spoken by the tongues of angels ; or by the 
mouth of man ? After what has been said, the reader will be prepared 
to say, "the keys of knowledge, or, the power to reveal the secrets 
of the kingdom of heaven, were committed to Peter ; therefore, the 
new doctrine concerning righteousness, or justification to life, was to 

« Isaiah ix. 6. * John xvi. 7, 10. 

M 2 



180 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 



be revealed through him." This is also true; but the " devout Jews" 
where ignorant of this arrangement ; therefore, instead of addressing 
Peter alone, they inquired of all the apostles, saying, u men and 
brethren, what shall we do?*" Mark, reader, though the question 
was put to all, only one of thorn, and that one, Peter, replied to the 
inquiry. He was the spokesman of the twelve, by whose mouth 
God had chosen that Israel should hear the word of the gospel, and 
believe ; or, as Paul writes, " the gospel of the circumcision was 
committed to Peter, in whom God wrought effectually for the 
purpose." 2 

The answer given by Peter announced for the first time, what 
believers of the gospel of the kingdom and in the things concerning 
Jesus, must do t in order to become joint-heirs with him of the promise 
made to the fathers. To these devout Jews, who now believed what 
both the prophets and apostles had spoken, who were now humbled in 
disposition as little children, swift to hear, and anxious to do, whatever 
the spirit should dictate; the holder of the keys to unlock the 
mystery of the gospel, said, " repent and be baptized every one of 
you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins." 3 

Such an annunciation as this had never been made before. In this 
way " repentance and the remission of sins" were " preached in the 
name of Jesus." This is God's way of righteousness, and besides 
this, there is no other way of salvation ; " for there is none other name 
under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." 4 
God's salvation is placed in the name of Jesus ; and this name is 
accessible to mankind only upon the condition of believing " the 
things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus" and 
being baptized by his name — " he that believes the gospel and is 
baptized shall be saved" — is the unrevoked fiat of the Son of God. 

The words of the Spirit by the mouth of Peter went home to the 
hearts of these devout Jews. " They that gladly received his word 
were baptized : and the same day there were added to the congregation 
about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the 
apostle's doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in 
prayers." 5 These disciples were "a kind of first-fruits of God's 
creatures begotten of his own will by the word of truth" 6 which 
" lives and abides for ever." 

But, though the mystery of the gospel was thus made known in 
the name of Jesus, even Peter, to whom the keys of the mystery 
were given, did not yet understand " the fellowship of the mystery." 
The keys were not given to him when Jesus spoke the words ; nor 
were both of them given to him on the day of Pentecost. The 
mystery was revealed to the Jews first ; and several years elapsed 
before it was known, or supposed, that the Gentiles would be admitted 
to a joint-heirship with Jesus on an equality with the Jews. During 
this period of about seven years, the body of Christ consisted solely 
of believing Israelites, sons of Abraham by flesh and faith. At the 
end of this time, however, God determined to "visit the Gentiles, 

Acta ii. 37. * Gal. ii. 8. A** ii. 98; see also Pago 119. * Acts tr. 12. « Acts ii. 41, 41 

"LIS. 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 181 

to take out of them a people for his name." He graciously resolved 
to invite men of all the nations of the Roman territory to accept 
honor, o;lory, and immortality, in the kingdom and empire about to 
be established on the ruins of all others. Hitherto he had only 
invited his own people Israel to this high destiny ; but now he was 
about to extend the gospel call to the nations also. 

Before this, however, could be accomplished according to the 
principles laid down in God's plan, it was necessary to prepare Peter 
for the work. Although an apostle, he was still a Jew, and had all 
the prejudices of the Jew against the Gentile. He considered it 
" unlawful for him to keep company, or come unto one of another 
nation." The Jews had no more social dealings with the Gentiles 
than with the Samaritans. And if any had suggested the propriety 
of his going and preaching the Kingdom of God and the Name of 
Jesus to Gentiles, he would have positively refused. If, however, he 
had been ever so willing, he could not have done it for various other 
reasons. In those days, no one could preach effectually unless he 
were sent ; and, as he had not been sent of God, his mission would 
have been a failure. Then, he did not know whether God would 
accept the Gentiles on the same conditions as the Jews, if, indeed, he 
would admit them to a joint heirship at all. But, the law was a 
sufficient wall of separation to keep Jewish preachers and Gentiles 
apart until God's time should arrive to do it away, and to bring i.iem 
together into " one body." 

Peter, then, had to be prepared for the work. The narrative of 
his preparation is contained in the tenth chapter of Acts. A direct 
attack was made upon his prejudices. He became very hungry 
about 12 o'clock in the day. While waiting for something to eat on 
the housetop, an amazement came over him. In this state, he saw a 
great sheet full of all sorts of unclean creatures, fit and appropriate 
emblems of the moral condition of the Gentiles. At this crisis, the 
Spirit said, " Rise, Peter, kill and eat !" But Peter preferred hunger 
to defilement ; and would not consent, until it was repeated for the 
third time, that the legal distinction between clean and unclean was 
done away : — " what God hath cleansed call not thou it common," 
or unclean. 

The impression made upon Peter by this vision is best expressed in 
his own words. " God hath showed me," says he, " that I should 
not call any man common, or unclean. Therefore, came I to you, 
Gentiles, as soon as I w r as sent for." In this way the second key of 
the kingdom was imparted to him. Its use was to make known the 
Fellowship of the Mystery. 

As soon as Peter's preparation was complete, even while he was 
debating within himself the meaning of the vision, three gentile 
messengers from Cornelius, a centurion of the Italian regiment, 
arrived from Cassarea, to request him to visit him. The Spirit told 
Peter to go with them, nothing doubting, for He had sent them. 

Now, while God was preparing Peter's mind for a ready obedience, 
he had sent a messenger to tell Cornelius to send for Peter. It 
would be well for the reader to reflect on the character of Cornelius 



182 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

before the angel visited him. He was not a pagan Gentile, or a 
wicked sinner in danger of hell-fire ; but a proselyte of righteousness, 
or an outer-court worshipper. "He was- a just and devout man, and 
one that feared God with all his house ; gave much alms to the Jews, 
among whom he was of good report ; and he prayed to God alway." 
No better man, lay or clerical, can be produced from any modern 
sect than Cornelius. He wa3 a God-fearing, "pious," and generous- 
hearted man. He was not a perverse, hot-headed, ignorant disciple 
of some sect; but a man approved of heaven, whose prayers and 
alms ascended before God as a memorial of him. But why dwell so 
on the character of this excellent man ? Because, a special mes- 
senger was sent from heaven to tell even this good man, this just and 
devout Gentile, to send for the apostle Peter, that he might come 
from Jo p pa, and tell him what he ought to do. But, as though this 
were not explicit enough, the angel stated that " Peier should come 
and tell him words, whereby he and his house might he saved." Now 
it is worthy of especial note by the religionists of this self-complacent 
generation, that this just person was not in a saved state under the 
new order of things : that he had both to hear words, and to do some- 
thing for his salvation which he had then as yet neither heard nor 
done; And let it be observed, furthermore, that the angel of God 
was not permitted to preach the gospel to Cornelius ; or, in other 
words, to tell him what he ought to do ; or u the words by which he 
and his house might be saved." He was only allowed to tell him to 
send for Peter. According to modern notions this was quite unneces- 
sary ; for, cries popular ignorance, it would have saved both time and 
trouble, if the angel had told Cornelius at once what it was necessary 
for so excellent a man to believe and do, instead of sending three 
men through the broiling sunshine to fetch Peter to Caesarea. O 
what a lesson is contained in this interesting narrative for the 
'* clergy," "ministers," and people of these times. How it convicts 
them of infidelity of the gospel, and sinfulness before God ; or, if 
sincerity be granted to them, and, doubtless, there are among them 
many honest and well-intentioned persons, who J* err, not knowing the 
scriptures ;" grant, then, that they sincerely love truth in the abstract, 
yet comparing their creeds and preaching, and practices, with the 
testimonies contained in the second, tenth, and eleventh of the Acts, 
to say nothing of others — how condemned are they as vain talkers, 
and deceived leaders of the blind. It is really painful to listen to the 
superficial dissertations of the textuaries, retailed to the people from 
the pulpits of the day. Theological speculations on isolated scraps of 
scripture are substituted for the words of Peter and the other apostles, 
by which alone even the " pious " can be saved. They talk of true 
religion, of primitive Christianity, of the gospel, of churches of 
Christ, and of an evangelical ministry ; but where among papist or 
protestant, church or dissent, are these things to be found, reflecting 
the precepts, precedents, and morality, of the " pure and undefiled 
religion " of the New Testament ? This New Testament Christianity 
is the grand desideratum of the protestant world ; which, however, 
've despair of beholding even in theory until Messiah shall appear in 



HE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 183 

his kingdom, and abolish all existing names, and denominations, 
which serve, indeed, as a kind of ecclesiastical police, but are perfectly 
useless as institutions capable of indoctrinating mankind with the 
things which they ought to believe and do, if they would become 
joint-heirs with Jesus of the kingdom, glory, and empire, of the 
Ancient of Days. 

From the testimonies before us, then, we learn, 

1. That u piety" and morality alone, will not save men ; 

2. That good and pious men must believe certain things and do 
certain others, for salvation ; 

3. That these things, indispensably necessary to salvation, are set 
forth in Peter's words spoken to his contemporaries ; 

4. That Peter's words are the keys to the mystery, and fellowship, 
of the gospel of the kingdom ; 

5. That there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles in relation 
to this mystery ; 

6. That God hath appointed men, and not angels, to preach the 
gospel ; 

7. That Peter was to be sent for, because to him alone the keys 
were given ; 

8. That, though piety and morality alone cannot save ; neither can 
faith, unaccompanied by fruits meet for repentance, give a man 
inheritance in the kingdom of God. 

Peter having arrived at the house of Cornelius, announced to all 
present, "the things which God had commanded him to speak." 
Having stated the great discovery made to him by the spirit, how 
that " God was no respecter of persons ; but that in every nation he 
that fears him (not however with that fear " which is taught by 
the precepts of men,") and works righteousness (such as God 
requires) is accepted of him :" — he directed their attention to " that 
word which God sent unto the children of Israel by Jesus Christ," 
preaching peace. He told them that they were acquainted with that 
word; for it was published throughout all Judea, beginning from 
Galilee after John's proclamation. As they knew it, he did not 
occupy time in repeating it in detail. The reader knows what the 
word was that God sent to Israel by Jesus Christ, for we have already 
spoken of it ; but, lest it should have escaped him, we will reiterate 
it." " I was sent," says Jesus, " to preach the kingdom of God." 
This was his message to Israel. Hence, he styles it in the parable of 
the sower, " the word of the kingdom." This word was so notorious 
to all that sojourned in the land of Israel, that it was as familiar as 
any question could possibly be. It was known also to every one, 
how that Jesus was anointed, or, christened with the Holy Spirit at 
his immersion in the Jordan by John ; and how he went about doing 
good and healing the infirmities of the people ; and none knew better 
than Roman centurions, that he was slain and hanged on a tree. 
These were matters of household notoriety and belief. A far more 
comprehensive faith than that of the moderns. But yet impotent to 
the justification of Cornelius and his house. More words were 
yet to be reported to them. Peter therefore affirmed that 



184 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

God had raised him from the dead ; and shown him openly, not 
to the public in general, but to certain witnesses previously chosen for 
the purpose, even to the apostles, who could not possibly have been 
deceived, because they eat fish and bread with him, and drank with 
him, after he rose from the dead. These things they heard and 
believed. The next thing he declared to them was, that God had 
commanded them to preach to the people Israel, and to testify, that 
Jesus was he that is appointed of God to be the Judge (k.oitjjs King 
as well as Judge, since in tlie East the king is judge) of the living 
and the dead. 1 Now, said Peter, and this was the fellowship of the 
mystery, u to him give all the prophets witness, that whosoever 
believeth in him shall receive remission of sins through his 

NAME." 

This was new doctrine to Gentiles. They had heard of it before 
as preached to Jews ; but they heard it now for the first time, that 
"whosoever believed," whether Jew or Gentile, should receive remis- 
sion of sins through his name. Peter had made a very straight- 
forward and simple statement of truth to them. This he called 
preaching " repentance and remission of sins in the name of Jesus. " 
There was no sermonizing, or text-weaving ; no scratching of itching 
cars; every thing was delivered in a concise and* dignified manner, 
which carried the impress of truth upon its very front. But, he not 
only opened the mystery of the gospel of the kingdom to these 
Gentiles, but he " preached the gospel to them with the Holy Spirit 
sent down from heaven ; " for, " while he yet spake these words, the 
Holy Spirit fell on all them who heard the word." When the six 
Jewish christians, who accompanied Peter, saw this, they were 
astonished, because that on the Gentiles was poured out the gift of 
the Holy Spirit as on the apostles themselves on the day of Pentecost. 
They could make no mistake about this, for " they heard them speak 
with tongues and magnify God." 

Here, then was the word preached, and the word confirmed by the 
Lord working with Peter. No one that heard the account of these 
things could doubt for a moment, whether " God had purified their 
hearts by faith," and accepted them. But still there was something 
wanting. Peter had told them of remission of sins through the 
name of Jesus to every one that believes in him ; but he had not 
informed these belie vers, how they could avail themselves of this 
omnipotent name. How were they to be washed, sanctified, and 
justified, by this name ? How were they to take it upon them ? In 
what manner was it to be named upon them ? The apostle says, that 
when the spirit fell upon them, he had only "began to speak." If 
he had not been interrupted by this extraordinary effusion, he would 
doubtless have fully explained himself upon this point; for, he was 
not only commanded to preach the name of Jesus, but to command 
believers to be immersed " into the name (ds to ovofxa) of the Father, 
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." 2 

Here then is a great matter. The name of Jesus is placed in the 
institution of immersion, based on an intelligent, childlike, belief of 

' 2 Tim. It, 1. 5 Matt, xxviii. 19. 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 185 

" the things of the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ." 
God has always placed his name, in his institutions. Under the law 
he placed it in the Tabernacle, and afterwards in the Temple at 
Jerusalem ; but, under grace, he has placed it in such a baptism as 
we have just defined, in conformity to which we can "worship him 
in spirit and in truth," without going to Jerusalem or Samaria. 
Cornelius and his household were in Ca*sarea, and in a private house. 
Peter did not require them to go to Jerusalem, or to a synagogue, in 
order to worship, or do homage, to God in spirit and in truth. They 
had believed the truth spoken by the spirit through Peter ; and they 
awaited the command of the spirit as to the manner in which they 
might work the righteousness of God. Peter, feeling his way with 
caution, because of his six brethren of the circumcision who accom- 
panied him, inquired, "Can any man forbid water, that these should 
not be immersed, who have received the Hoiy Spirit as well as we ?" 
From this question we learn, that there were cases in those days in 
which the use of water was forbidden, or considered as improper. 
The apostles did not preach water to the people as the moderns do. 
They permitted no one to have access to the water unless they believed 
he was a proper subject. They were sometimes deceived, but that 
was not their fault ; they did their best to discharge their duty faith- 
fully. If a man did not believe the gospel of the kingdom of God 
and the name of Jesus Christ, they would not immerse him ; for, it 
was commanded them that u he that believeth not should be con- 
demned," i. c. should not be unloosed from his sins in the name of 
Jesus. The paidorhantists do well to refuse to be immersed ; and 
the baptists do wrong to urge it upon them. For the sprinklers do 
not believe the gospel of the kingdom, and neither have they the 
spirit of the gospel ; and therefore, they are not fit to be immersed. 
The institution of God's name ought not to be desecrated by the 
immersion of such misbelievers into its formula. Water should be 
forbidden them. It is not water, but faith, they need at present — 
that one, heart purifying, faith, such as Cornelius and his household 
possessed, and *■ without which it is impossible to please God." 

It cannot be said, that the paidorhantists (from ttuiSes infants and 
pavTKTTat sprinklers, that is, infant-sprinklers) make too little of water; 
one great offence against high heaven which they commit, is making 
infinitely too much of it. The efficacy the apostles put in the heart- 
purifying faith, and conscience-cleansing name of Jesus, they place 
in a few drops of " holy" or common, water, and a physical regene- 
ration of a hypothetic principle in the flesh ! They require no faith, 
no repentance, no confession to qualify their subjects for the water 
and formula of the Name. They ask only a suckling of eight days, 
with godfathers and godmothers, whose characters are not even 
inquired into, to answer questions ; which oftentimes they do not 
understand, and oftener have no intention to conform to the require- 
ments of ; or, dispensing with these godless gods, give them the infant 
with a proxy parental faith in the dogmas of a sect, and it will suffice. 
Paidorhantist "ministers," with solemn mockery of the holy and 
august name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, will sprinkle the 



188 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

face of the mindless wcekling, and impiously proclaim to the people, 
that such is the " one haptism" of the religion of Christ! ! ! Is it 
not wonderful, that God has witnessed this blasphemy for ages, and 
not rem the heavens with indignation upon them. Great, indeed, id 
the forbearance of the Most High ; but, the time hath at length come, 
when his patience will have an end. How astounding is the pre- 
sumption of such ! " The people of the Lord," say they, " are we ! 
Wisdom will die with us! - Yet they are faithless of the words of 
Peter, for they do them not; and have changed the ordinance of God, 
and made it contemptible. A rhantized, but unbaptized, community, 
is the vast majority of the professing world ; and therefore '* without 
Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers 
from the covenants of promise, having no hope (no true one) and 
without God iu the world." They that honor God, he will honor ; 
but they who seek honor one of another, and desecrate his name, are 
fattening their hearts for the day of slaughter; and are fit only for 
capture and destruction. 

Cornelius and his household differ from these in toto. They all 
helieved the words of Peter, awaiting his commands. He had 
inquired, if there were any present who could, in the face of what 
they saw and heard, " forbid water that they should not be baptized." 
He doubtless paused a reasonable time, that objections might be urged 
if any could possibly exist. But all Jewish prejudices were abolished 
by " the demonstration of the spirit," and they held their peace. 
Things being brought to this crisis, it only remained for the Spirit of 
God to pronounce the word. Therefore, Peter opened his mouth, 
and "commanded them to be baptized in the name of the 

LORD.'' 

After this manner Peter used the keys of the kingdom of heaven 
given to him by the Lord Jesus Christ. When he had accomplished 
this work, he no longer- retained the power of the heys. They were 
transferred to the multitude of the believing Jews and Gentiles. The 
spirit had revealed the mystery of the kingdom, and the fellowship of 
the mystery, by the mouth of Peter on Pentecost, and at Caesarea ; so 
that the keys became the common property of all believers. The 
Lord, "who hath the key of David, hath opened and no man can 
shut; 1 ' 1 he hath set before the Gentiles "an open door, and no man 
can close it," so long as the scriptures are in the hands of the people. 
The false prophet may dangle keys at his girdle, and affect the power 
of the Son ot God ; but so long as "the law and the testimony" 
are accessible, " whosoever is athirst may come ; and whosoever will, 
may take the water of life freely." The scriptures contain the keys. 
Popes, priests, clergy, and ministers may suppress, torture, and garble 
the truth, and throw hindrances in the way ; but the man who discards 
their authority, and thinks for himself, may, by the enlightening 
efficacy of the living word, become " wise unto salvation by the faith 
which is in Jesus Christ." Let the people then help themselves, if 
they would that God should aid them. 

From what has been advanced it is manifest, that u the word of the 

ReT. Hi. 7, 8. 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 187 

kingdom " presents itself to us in the scriptures in a threefold 
relation ; 

1. As the gospel preached to Abraham, &c. ; 

2. As the same gospel preached in the lame of Jesus on Pentecost. 
or the mystery of the gospel of the kingdom ; and, 

3. As the fellowship of the mystery of the gospel preached, first 
by Peter to circumcised Gentiles; and afterwards by Paul to the 
worshippers of idols. • 

These are not three gospels; but one and the same gospel, as before 
stated ; originally all promise ; then promise, history, and doctrine, 
preached to Jews only ; and afterwards offered to the Gentiles upon 
the same terms as to the Jews. But, though I have set forth these 
things with some minuteness, the reader will still feel that the treatise 
is incomplete so long as I have not set forth " the things concerning 
the kingdom of God," to which such frequent reference has been 
made, as the grand theme of <fc the glorious gospel of the blessed 
God ;" and, without the knowledge of which, a man's faith is destitute 
of the "one hope of the calling;" which is the anchor of the soul 
both sure and stedfast within the veil in Christ Jesus ; who is there 
" waiting to receive the kingdom and return." This then, will be the 
subject of future illustration, in the hop»> that we shall make it so plain 
that " he who runs may read." I shall now proceed to say a few 
words upon 

APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION. 

u Divines " contend that the mantle of the apostles fell upon the 
elders, or bishops, of the churches, who survived them ; that these 
survivors were " the successors of the apostles" and that when these 
died away, the apostolic mantle fell upon those who succeeded to 
their offices in the churches, being invested by the imposition of 
hands ; and that thus from generation to generation until the present 
day, the succession has been perpetuated by the institution of ordina^ 
tion, or u holy orders ;" so that the living orders of ecclesiastics, com- 
posed of pope, cardinals, bishops, priests, and ministers, are " suc- 
cessors of the apostles/' endued with like authority and power in the 
churches, and entitled to the same obedience and consideration. 
They found their claim to these high pretensions upon certain pas- 
sages of scripture, written concerning the apostles and their 
co-laborers; which they apply to themselves ; and ar^ue that the 
grace of office has been transmitted from one to another by the impo- 
sition of " holy hands!" Thus, when an aspirant to apostolic suc- 
cession presents himself before a bishop for ordination, the latter says 
to this effect, % i Receive thou the Holy Ghost by the imposition of 
my hands for the office, or work, of a priest in the house of God; 
whosesoever sins you remit are remitted, and whosesoever sins you 
retain are retained." This, says the thirty-sixth article of the national 
religion, 4< hath nothing, that of itself is superstitious or ungodly." 
By virtue of this consecration and ordering, absolution, or remission 
of sins, is pronounced by the priest standing up alone in the mids 



188 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

of the people, who kneel to receive it; and in the form, it is declared, 
that " Almighty God hath given power, and commandment, to his 
ministers, to declare and pronounce to his people, being penitent, the 
absolution and remission of their sins." Thus, the national parsono- 
cracy claim the apostolic attribute of remitting and retaining sins, of 
binding and loosing, even as the papists ; with this modification, 
however, that they remit, sins in the gross, while the latter, do it both 
wholesale and retail. Thus, do the national and popish clergy speak 
blasphemy 1 continually. 

But, the state-clergies are not alone in their assumption of apostoli- 
city ; the dissenters are condemnable on the same account. They 
claim to be ambassadors of Jesus Christ ; and they permit none to 
<; administer ordinances" who are not ordained by the imposition of 
hands. The ordained do not undertake to forgive sins after the 
manner of the apostles ; but they apply to themselves scriptures 
which relate only to the apostles, by which they constitute themselves 
their U successors.'' 

But, the truth is, that neither state, nor nonconformist, clergies, are 
intitled to be regarded as " successors of the apostles." The nature of 
the office may be comprehended by ihe qualifications of the office- 
holder which were indispensible. They may be thus stated. 

1. An apostle of Christ to the circumcision must be one who has 
companied with the Lord Jesus, from his baptism until his ascension; 
so as to be a witness to his resurrection :" 

2. An apostle of Cluist to the Gentiles must have seen Jesus ; s 
and have conversed with him as well as the former : 

3. An apostie must he chosen, ordained, and sent, of the Lord ; 4 
and authorized by him to forgive and retain sins. 5 

4. An apostle must be able to work signs, and wonders, and mighty 
deeds, as signs of his apostleship. 6 

5. To be an apostle a man must have believed the pure gospel of 
the kingdom of God, 7 have been immersed, 8 and walk according to 
the truth of it.9 

With these qualifications, the thirteen apostles (avoaroXoi, men sent 
with commands) directed the affairs of the churches, which they had 
formed and established in the world. Their administration was in 
fact the administration of the Spirit through them ; so that in their 
word was power 10 to the healing of disease, the infliction of it, 11 and 
the destruction of life. 12 They conferred spiritual gifts upon believers 
by the imposition of their hands ; 13 and gave commandments to the 
faithful as the vicegerents of the Lord. 14 Now, reason and common 
sense teach, that if men are real successors to apostolicity, they will 
be like Peter and Paul in all their qualifications and attributes ; but 
reason also teaches, that after the ascension of Jesus, no man can 
be qualified for the apostleship unless the Lord appear to him, as in 
the case of Paul. But, the truth is, that this claim of apostolic suc- 
cession is as groundless, as the claim of the clergy of the apostasy to 

• Matt ix. 2, 3, 6. ' Acts 1. 21, 22 ; 8. a 1 Cor. ix. 1. * John xv. 16. & John xx. 22, 23. « 2 Cor. 

til. 12 ; Gal. ii. 8. » Gal. i. 8. * Luke vii. 20 ; Acts xxii. 16. 9 Gal. ii. 14. '« 1 Cor. iv. 20, 21. 

*» 1 Cor. v. 4 ; Acts xiii. 11. « Acts r. 0, 10. " Acts viii. 14—18. ■• Matt, xxviii. 20. 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD, 189 

tithes, on the ground of their succession to the rights of the Levitical 
priesthood. If their apostolicity be granted, it can only be as " false 
apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of 
Christ. And no marvel," continues Paul, u for Satan himself is 
transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if 
his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness ; 
whose end shall be according to their works." 1 

It is a strong hold of these pretended apostles, that the Lord 
promised to be with them always to the end of the world. They 
contend (though, as learned men they must know better) that the 
phrase ** the end of the world " indicates a period of time yet future; 
and, therefore, that Jesus had reference, not to the apostles only, but 
to their <fc successors " likewise. Hence, they argue that the com- 
mand yet remains with them to be executed, which says, " Go ye 
therefore, into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature," 
But, to this I object, that the end of the world to which Jesus 
referred, arrived seventeen hundred years ago ; secondly, that the 
work enjoined upon the persons in the text was fully accomplished by 
the apostles ; thirdly, that the Lord is not with them who pretend to 
be their successors ; fourthly, that the moderns cannot execute the 
command, because they are utterly ignorant of the gospel ; and, 
therefore, cannot be the individuals referred to. 

In the first place, the Lord Jesus did not use the phrase, " the end 
of the world," in the vulgar engli>h sense of it. He said to the 
eleven, " Behold, I am with you t iraara^ t«s hfitpas, all the days, 
ias tiis o-i/i/teXeiccs tov aiwi/os, until the end of the ageT Here are cer- 
tain days indicated, which were comprehended in the period to elapse 
from the time when Jesus ma'de the promise, until the end of the age. 
These days are termed by Paul, u these last days;"* which he charac- 
terizes as those in which God spoke to the Israelites by a Son, as well 
as those in which he was writing to the Hebrews some thirty years 
after : %i these last days," says he. Now, these days taken collectively, 
he styles according to the english version, " the end of the world ;" 
as it is written, " Now once in the end of the world hath Jesus 
appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." 3 The reader 
will easily perceive by the mark in the text, that the world spoken of 
was that to which Jesus stood related by death. That it was near its 
end when he was crucified by it ; but if " the world " is to be taken 
in the vulgar english sense, Paul was wrong in saying, that Jesus 
sacrificed himself in the end of it ; for surely that period was not the 
end of the world, which passed away eighteen hundred years ago ! 
But the truth is, Paul was perfectly accurate in what he wrote. He 
knew nothing about the english sense of his words ; for there were 
neither englishmen, nor english words in his day. He penned He- 
braisms in Greek words ; that is, he put the things God had taught 
Israel into a Greek dress. He wrote " the things of the spirit " in 
the words of the spirit selected from the Greek language. What 
he said in the text before us was, " but now once for all ctti *vvrt\tia 
*t»vaiwvu>v at the end of the ages hath he appeared to put away sin by 

'2 Cor. xi. IS. «Heb.i.l. * Hcb. ix. 26. 



190 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

the sacrifice of himself." The constitution of Mount Sinai was the 
founding of the Hebrew world, or Koa-fios ; because it ordered, ot 
arranged, the things pertaining to Israel, as a system sui generis. 
This system had times peculiar to itself which were appointed at the 
promulgation of the law. These are termed in scripture aiwvf?, that 
is, aions, from an alway and <av passing. The etymology of aiwv does 
not express the duration of the time; its continuance is defined by 
the Mosaic law. The Hebrew Commonwealth under the Sinaitic 
constitution was not intended to continue always. The time of its 
existence was predetermined of God, but not revealed in the law, or 
the prophets, but " reserved in his own power." 1 It is termed aitav} 
and its approaching termination o-wj/rtXeta tov aiwvo*, the end of the 
time, that is, of the Hebrew Commonwealth under the Mosaic law. 
But, though the precise duration of this great time (1697 years) 
was kept secret; the lesser times, or cuwj/es, aions, of which it was 
composed, were very minutely specified as in the case of the Jubilees; 
so that the whole time of the commonwealth was the atwv rwv mtovtov, 
the aion of the aions, the time of the times, or age of the ages. 
Hence, while the Lord Jesus designated the consummation as the 
end of the time ; Paul indicated it as the end of the times, or ages. 

That the delivering of the law was the beginning of the aiwv, or 
Hebrew world, is obvious from the words of Peter. Addressing the 
men of Israel, he said, " God will send Jesus Christ to you : whom 
the heaven must retain until times (xpovuv) of reconstitution of all 
things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets 
air'atwvos from the age : for Moses truly said to the fathers, &e."2 
In the authorized version air 'aiwi/os is rendered " since the world 
began." If this be preferred, it is evident that the world referred to 
was coeval in its beginning with Moses ; for he is cited as the first of 
the holy prophets by whose mouth God spoke of the reconstitution of 
the Hebrew commonwealth at the appearing of Christ from heaven. 
Paul refers to the same epoch, saying, " the fellowship of the mystery 
hath been hid in God airo to»i/ aiwvwv from the ages;'' in the common 
version, u from the beginning of the world.''' 3 From the beginning 
of the age, or of the ages, is the correct rendering of the Greek in 
these texts. They both refer to the beginning of the commonwealth 
of Israel in the giving of the law from Sinai. 

To speak in the vernacular, God promised eternal life to man bejore 
the world began. Such a statement as this would be incomprehensi- 
ble to a mere english reader; yet such is the import of the saying, 
" God, who cannot lie, promised eternal life before the world began 
(vpo xpovwv aiwvioiv) ; but in due times (fcaipoi? tfocis) hath manifested 
his word by preaching." 4 To whom did he promise it ? Certainly 
not to any one before the formation of man. The world referred to 
cannot therefore be that founded in the six days ; but a constitution of 
things long subsequent to it. A literal translation removes all diffi- 
culiy. The phrase nrpo xpovwv etobvmv is before the aionian times; that 
is, before the times of the Hebrew commonwealth were arranged, 
God promised eternal life; and in /cactus idioi? definite times, such 

1 Acts i. 7} Mork xiil. 32. ? Acts iii. 20, 31. ? Epb. lift 9. * Tit. i. 2, 3. 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 191 

times, namely, as are particularized in Daniel, 1 he made his word, 
which had before been a hidden mystery, manifest 2 through the 
apostolic preaching. 

In the parable of the sower, 3 the phrase "-the' world" is used in 
different senses, which are not distinguished in the english version. 
Jesus says there, " the field is the world" Did he mean it was " the 
whole habitable," " the age," or the Israelites ; for world is applied 
to them all ? If it had been the first, he would have said " the field 
is the 6\jj SiKovfitv^ ;" if the second, " the field is the aiwv ;" and if the 
third, " the field is the kootios." The last is the record in the case. 
He represents himself as the sower ; and says that the seed which he 
sowed was " the word of the kingdom ;" that it was "good seed;" 
and that he sowed it into the hearts of the Israelites, or " children of 
the kingdom," of whom there were two classes, good and bad. 4 
These, then, were the field, and therefore the koo-hos, or nation- world. 
But the enemy sowed tares into this field, which were to be gathered 
out and burnt. This conflagration was to be at harvest-time, con- 
cerning which Jesus said, "the harvest is the end of the world." 
Did he mean the end of the nation-world ? No ; therefore he used 
another word, namely, aiwv instead of kov/xo?. The harvest was to be 
at the end of the aion o-wTtXzia rov aioovos ; and not at the end of the 
kosmos, or extermination of the nation Israel from among nations. 
The extinction of Israel from the earth will never take place ; though 
a full end will be made of all other nations. But at the end of what 
aioii was the harvest to be ? Jesus replies, " as the tares are gathered 
and burned in the fire at harvest time ; so shall it be w -nj o-uureXtia 
ro» «io»i/os tovtovj in the end of this age." That is, in the end of the 
aion in which he flourished. Then he would send his reapers, 
namelv, the Romans, his angels, or messengers (ayygXoi) of destruc- 
tion, to " gather out of his kingdom " of Judea, all the tare-like 
children of Israel, and cast them into the place of the Lord, " whose 
fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem," 5 where there should 
be wailing, and gnashing of teeth. When this should be accom- 
plished the aion would be finished, and the commonwealth of Israel 
should " be no more until He should come whose right it is to 
reign." 6 " Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the 
kingdom of their Father." 

As Jesus sat on the mount of Olives, his disciples asked him, say- 
ing, " What shall he the sign of the end of the age — n ro an^iov r^ 
<rvvTe\zia^ rov aiwvos ? or, in the common version, " of the end of the 
world ?" He replied, " This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached 
in the whole habitable (ei> o\ij oikov^vi^ for a testimony to all the 
nations : and then shall come the end." 7 Having said this, he gave 
them " the sign,' namely, the standing of the abomination of desola- 
tion in the holy place, or city, as foretold by Daniel. 8 First, then, 
the gospel was to be fully preached to every creature by the apostles ; 
and, afterwards, the sign was to appear. Did the apostles perform 
their work, or does it yet remain to be accomplished ? Their pre- 

* Dan. ix. 24—26. ' Rom. xvi.26. » Matt. xiii. 37—40. « Matt. viii. 12. * Isaiah xxxi. 9. 
« Ezek. xxi. 25—27. » Matt. xxiv. 3, 14. 8 Dan. ix. 26. 



192 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

tended successors answer " no y they did not." They contend that 
there are vast regions which were unknown to the ancients, where 
the gospel has never been preached ; and, therefore, that, as it is to 
be preached to every creature, it is incumbent on them to do it ; and 
that the end of the world will not come until they have converted all 
the nations to Christianity ! Hence, they have established societies 
de propaganda fide both Romish and protestant. Every principal 
sect has its missionary society, whose Utopian speculation is the con- 
version of the world under the warrant of the apostolic commission ! 
As if a command given to the apostles to preach the gospel of the 
kingdom, were a command given to modern missionaries to go and 
preach churchism and dissenterism, Calvinism, arminianism, and 
popery, to all the world! But the apostles were not sent to "all the 
world " in the gentile acceptation of the phrase. They were sent to 
all the nations of the then habitable, or civilized, world ; principally, 
and almost exclusively, comprehended in the limits of the Roman 
dominion. Nor were they sent under the idea of converting them 
nationally to the gospel ; but to preach it eis naprvpiov for a testimony; 
that is, for their information, that disciples might be made among 
them all ; so that a people might be taken out of them (e£ tdvwv) for 
the administration of the affairs of God's kingdom and empire upon 
earth. 1 The apostles left nothing for " successors " to do under the 
commission given to them. They preached the gospel of the king- 
dom to "every creature" of the Roman nations; if not in the 
gentile sense of "every creature," at least in the sense of the phrase 
as used by the Lord Jesus. I feel strong upon this point, sustained 
as I am by the direct testimony of scripture ; which is worth all the 
theories, and all the logic of the schools en masse. The apostle, in 
speaking of the " one hope of the calling" • contained " in the word 
of the truth of the gospel," tells the Colossian believers, 3 that " it had 
come to all the world" {nrapovro^ tv iravrt tw Koo-fiw) in the sense of "every 
creature," as appears in another verse 4 of the same chapter. In this 
place, he says, " the hope of the gospel was preached to every creature 
which is under the heaven" This was the result of some thirty years 
apostolic labor ; for the epistle in which he makes the statement is 
assigned to the A.D. 62 ; which was about eight years before the 
desolating abomination appeared before the walls of Jerusalem, as 
" the sign" of the end of the age. 

The gospel of the kingdom, so efficiently preached by the apostles, 
was soon after perverted by " men of corrupt minds ;" 5 whom Paul, 
who was very severe, but not too much so, upon this class of professors, 
styles, " seducing spirits, speaking lies in hyprocrisy, and having 
their conscience seared as with a hot iron." 6 Let the reader consult 
the references below. These characters were the " successors " from 
whom modern apostles, and ambassadors of Christ, have originated. 
When the Hebrew commonwealth was broken up by the Romans, 
they claimed to be successors to the priests and Levites of the law, 
as well as to the apostles. Thus they united a worldly priestnood 

• Arts xv. 14. 3 Eph. W. 4. » Col. i. 5, 6. * ver. 23. * 2 Tim. iii. 1—8 : iv. 3. 4 ; Tit. i. 10—14 

« 1 Tim. iv. 1—3. 



^.HE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 193 

(for all Christ's disciples are kings and priests, elected for the purposes 
of the approaching kingdom) with eldership ; and became a distinct 
order unrecognized by the scriptures, by which they are repudiated 
as " reprobate concerning the faith." This order of men, as I have 
already stated elsewhere, had the presumption to style themselves, 
God's heritage, or " clergy ;" as though he had a delight in them 
above all other professors ! But with all their praying and preaching, 
and profession, neither they nor their successors, love the Lord ; for 
they do not obey him : and he has made obedience the test of love, as 
it is written, " love is the fulfilling of the law." They corrupted, 
and perpetuate the perversions of the faith from age to age ; therefore, 
says the scripture, " let them be accursed when the Lord comes." 2 

By the ministerial influence of this order of men multitudes 
departed from the faith ; and by their accession to municipal and 
state authority, they were enabled to give political existence to the 
apostasy they had consummated. It is unnecessary to narrate the 
history of their evil deeds from the beginning to the present time. It 
would require volumes to do justice to their ignorance, hypocrisy, 
and crime. As ecclesiastical policemen they have kept the world in 
order for the advantage and behoof of the oppressors and destroyers of 
the earth ; and have used the people for their own profit under pretence 
of " curing their souls." But, while this is undeniably true of the 
order, I am free to admit, that there have been, and no doubt are, 
many sincere, honest, and moral, men, who bear the names of 
"clergyman," and "minister :" — many, who conscientiously believe 
their theories to be the true sense of scripture ; and who would suffer 
the loss of all things, and life itself, rather than surrender what they 
believe to be the truth. There have been many such ; and may still 
be, should occasion arise to necessitate their manifestation. These are 
men who are in advance of the systems by which they have been 
created " clergymen," and " ministers." Their position is an unhappy 
one. System has made them ; and they conscientiously support and 
perpetuate the system, having been indoctrinated by their predecessors 
into the belief that the system is the religion of God ! But, I have 
hope, that if this book fall into the hands of this respectable class of 
professors, it may be instrumental in opening their eyes to see the 
deception practised upon them by the traditions of their fathers. 
Sincerity, honesty, piety, and morality, are good qualities without 
which no man can be saved. I admit they have all these. But they 
should remember, that Cornelius was as estimable a man as they ; 
and had the advantage of them in this, that his character was attested 
of God by the mouth of a special messenger from heaven ; whereas 
they have no attestation beyond what is purely human. Now, piety 
and God-fearing did not save Cornelius ; they only commended him 
to God's remembrance. It was necessary for him to believe words, 
and to be baptized in the name of the Lord, as I have already shown. 
These words were the gospel of the kingdom of God and his Christ. 
This necessity has never been abrogated. It is in full force to this 
day. Clergy and ministers do not believe it. Much of it they sneer 

1 1 Cor. xvi. 22 ; Gal. i. 8, 2 ; Matt viL 21—23. 



194 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

at as " the millennial hypothesis,'" If they would attain to the king- 
dom of God, they must believe the doctrine concerning it. Martyrdom 
for opinion's sake is no substitute for " the obedience of faith." It 
is self-deception to say, that God is with us to the end of the world, 
when we neither understand, nor believe and obey, the truth. 

Lastly, the clergy and ministers of the age, being utterly ignorant 
of the gospel of the kingdom, are plainly not the persons referred to 
in the commission. The Lord is not "with them;" and without his 
co-operation, were they as enlightened and faithful as the apostles 
themselves, they could do nothing. 1 They point to what is done 
among the heathen in proof of his being "with them." But, there 
is nothing done there as it ought to be done ; or, as things were done 
when the Lord worked with the apostles. Their missionary societies 
are but so many institutions for the intellectual, moral, and social, 
training of the heathen in the civilization of European and American 
religionists. They make protestants and catholics of the natives ; 
but beyond this they cannot go. They may extend the civilization of 
Japheth into the tents of Shem, and compel Ham to be their servant ; 
but to beget them in Christ Jesus through the gospel, and so to induct 
them into the heirship of the kingdom of God, is a thing they could 
as soon accomplish as to still the raging of the sea. If by their 
labors they were to make all the earth like England and America, it 
would still need to be converted to the religion of Christ. Ecclesiastics 
have done all they are able to do in " civilized" communities. They 
are powerless for progress among these ; and men of naturally strong 
minds are either indifferent to their ministrations, or have repudiated 
them altogether. They lack one thing, namely, the knowledge of 
" the truth as it is in Jesus." In default of this they occupy the minds 
of the people with foreign enterprizes, benevolent institutions, public 
meetings, platform and pulpit oratory, fancy fairs, and all sorts of 
devices to raise the wind to keep the machine in motion. But all 
will not do. The people begin to flag. The masses take no interest 
in their preaching. Their churches are cold, formal, and deathlike. 
Their " spirituality" is gone ; and, unless the Lord come to raise the 
dead, both priests and people, will be beyond the reach of cure. 

Apostolic succession, then, especially through such a channel, is a 
mere figment of the carnal mind. The only succession of which any 
scriptural idea can be formed is, the following in the steps of the 
apostles' faith ; which no one, who understands the word of the king- 
dom, would affirm of the ecclesiastical guides of the people. The 
power and authority of the apostles died with them. Those who succeed 
to their faith are their successors only in this sense. Their word, 
which is also the Lord's word, dwells in such richly in all wisdom ; 
and where the word of the Lord is found, there, by the belief of it, 
he dwells in the hearts of men. When they work according to this 
word, they and the Lord work together. But this is not pecu- 
liar to a ministerial class ; but is common to all the Lord's people ; 
for he is no respecter of persons. A successor to the faith of the 
apostles delights to feel that he is a layman; that he is one of the 

John xt. 5. 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 19£ 

flock ; and the best of the sheep it contains, because his sole anxiety 
is to know and obey the great shepherd's voice. 1 He is not a wolf. 
nor a dog, rending, and devouring, the flock, and investing himseli 
with its wool ; but one, who would be the servant of the least, that he 
may be exalted to an unfading crown of glory, when the good shep- 
herd shall appear to give life to all his sheep for evermore. 



CHAPTER II. 

Five points of prophetic testimony. — The general elements of a kingdom constituents 
of the kingdom of Christ. — The promise made of God to the fathers, the hope of 
Israel, and the gospel, the same.— Y^ ho the fathers are.— Abram originally from 
Babel, and an idolator — The Lord preaches the gospel to him in Mesopotamia. — 
He believes it, and emigrates westward in consequence. — Becomes a wanderer in 
the land of Canaan, which is promised to him and Christ for ever. — His faith 
counted to him for righteousness. — The promise of a resurrection to eternal life. — 
Confirmation of the covenant of promise. — The extent of the land defined in the 
Wili. — The personal re-appearance of Christ necessitated by the nature of things. 
— The phrases "in thee," " in him," and " in thy seed," explained. —The nations 
God's people in no sense. — Abraham, Christ, and the saints, " heirs of the world." 
— The token of the covenant. — The signification of circumcision. — Modern Israel 
under the curse of the law.— Circumcision of the heart. — The Allegory.— The two 
seeds. — Parable of the Seed. — Summary of Abraham's faith. 



It is written in the prophet Micah, that " the Lord shall judge 
among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off (from Jeru- 
salem) ;" and as the result thereof, " they shall beat their swords into 
ploughshares, and their spears into scythes : nation shall not lift up 
sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But 
they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree ; and 
none shall make them afraid." And "in that day, saith the Lord, 
I will assemble " Israel, " and make them A strong nation: and 
the Lord shall reign over them on Mount Zion from henceforth, 
even for ever." And " unto thee, O Zion, shall it come, even the 
first dominion ; the kingdom: shall come to the daughter of Jeru- 
salem." 2 And the Judge, who shall be Ruler in Israel, whose goings 
forth have been from everlasting, "shall stand and feed in the strength 
of Jehovah, in the Majesty of the Name of the Lord his God; and 
Israel shall abide; for now shall He be great to the ends of the 
earth. And this man (Christ the Lord) shall be the peace when the 
Assyrian (the Russo- Assyrian) shall come into our (Israel's) land." 
And ** Assyria shall be wasted with the sword, and the land of 
Nimrod in the entrances thereof; thus shall He (the Judge of Israel) 
deliver us from the Assyrian (Gog) when he cometh into our land." 
u And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as 

« Heb. xiii. 20; John x. 27. 2 Mic. iv. 8—8. 

n2 



196 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

a dew from the Lord, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not 
for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men. And the remnant of 
Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a 
lion among the beasts of the forest, a* a young lion among the flocks 
of sheep ; who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in 
pieces, and none can deliver. Thine hand shall be lifted up upon 
thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off." " And I 
will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as 
they have not heard." 1 

From this passage, which is only a specimen of the general tenor 
of the law and the testimony, we are informed, 

1. That the nations are to be subdued, and that universal peace 
shall prd^ail in consequence ; 

2. That when this shall occur, the Israelites shall become a strong 
nation ; 

3. That they shall then constitute a kingdom ; 

4. That the Judge of Israel, formerly treated with indignity, shall 
be their King ; 

5. That Jerusalem shall be the metropolis, and Mount Zion the 
throne, of the kingdom. 

Such is the revealed purpose of the Most High. But a consum- 
mation like this requires preparation ; and that, too, a very long one ; 
especially as it is to be developed upon certain moral, as well as 
political, principles. When the time shall come for the kingdom to 
be possessed, it will be said to the heirs of it, " Come ye blessed of 
my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation 
of the world." From this, it appears, that the work of preparing 
the kingdom takes from the foundation of the world to the resurrec- 
tion of the dead. All this time the kingdom is preparing ; but when 
the King descends, and rebukes the nations, and wastes the land of 
Nimrod with the sword, and makes Israel a strong nation, it will then 
be said that the kingdom is prepared. 

The reader will probably inquire, what does this work of prepara- 
tion consist in that it should take so long a time ? This is an im- 
portant question, and, in reply, I remark, that if physical force only 
were employed in preparing the kingdom, it need not take so long. 
A kingdom may be set up in a few days, and abolished as speedily, 
as we have witnessed in our own time. But it is not so with the 
Kingdom of God. The physical is subordinated to the intellectual 
and moral ; and, as men, among whom it is being prepared, are so 
earthly and sensual, the mental progresses much more slowly than 
the physical ; and, therefore, a kingdom founded upon moral princi- 
ples requires longer to prepare, but is more enduring when completed. 
In the following pages my endeavor will be to set forth an answer to 
the question in detail. 

A kingdom is the dominion of a king. An empire is also the 
dominion of a king, but with this difference ; the kingdom proper, or 
" the first dominion" is restricted to a regally constituted territory; 
while the empire, or secondary dominion, though belonging to the 

I Mic. r. I, 9, 4—9, 15. 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD, 197 

same king, extends over other peoples, multitudes, nations, and 
tongues, than those of the royal domain. This is illustrated in the 
case of the British kingdoms and empire. The kingdoms are re- 
stricted to England and Scotland, which are by constitution regal 
territories ; but the empire is a secondary dominion of the same united 
crowns, extending over Canada, Hindostan, and other parts of the 
globe, with all the nations, languages, and people, they contain. 

There are various elements necessary to the constitution of a well- 
organized kingdom. In the first place, a kingdom must hace a terri- 
tory. This is only saying in other terms, that something must be 
somewhere. To maintain the opposite would be to contend, that 
something is nowhere. A kingdom is not located in a feeling, or, in 
heart ; though a belief of its future existence, a comprehension of its 
nature, or an attachment to it, may exist there. It must have a 
place, a locality, as well as a name. It would be highly absurd to 
say, that the kingdom of England and the throne of Victoria were in 
Spain ; yet this would be as reasonable, as to say, that the kingdom 
and throne of David are beyond the skies ! — an orthodox dogma 
contained in the fiction, that Jesus is now sitting upon the throne of 
his father David ! What conceit after this is too ridiculous for 
creed-makers and systematizers to promulge ! 

In addition to a territory, a kingdom requires subjects, which com- 
pose the nation over whom there is the king. But, simply to set 
up a man and call him " king" would be unwise. It would be con- 
sonant only with the barbarism of savage tribes. A well-regulated 
monarchy requires gradation of ranks, and orders of the best men, 
with whom the king may divide his power, and glory, and administer 
the laws of the kingdom. These laws should be in conformity with 
the provisions and spirit of the constitution ; which defines the princi- 
ples, and creates and combines the elements, of the State. Now, it is 
worthy of remark, that the subjects of a kingdom do not possess the 
kingdom. They are simply the inhabitants of the territory, who are 
defended against external aggression, and protected as civilians by the 
power, and laws, of the State. The possessors of the kingdom are 
the king, and those with whom he is pleased to share his authority. 
This is an important distinction, and must not be forgotten in studying 
" the things of the kingdom of God." The subjects of the kingdom 
and empire, are a totally different class from the heirs, or possessors, 
of the dominion. From this brief view, then, of the nature and con- 
stitution of a kingdom, its elements may be stated as consisting of, 

1. A territory ; 

2. Subjects; 

3. A king ; 

4. A constitution ; 

»5. Laws, civil and ecclesiastical ; 

6. Aristocracy ; 

7. Attributes, or, prerogatives, rights, privileges, &c. 

Now, " the hintfdom, of God and of his Christ " will consist of all 
these things ; and will be as material an institution — as real and ter- 
restrial a monarchy, as those of Great Britain, Belgium, or Spain. 



198 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

It is not now an existent reality ; for, though it once existed under a 
constitution, which hath waxed old and vanished away; its elements 
are dissolved from their previous combination, and remain dispersed. 
Their restitution is, however, a matter of promise, attested by two 
immutable things, by the oath and existence of the living God. His 
kingdom and empire on earth are a great truth, but not an existing 
fact ; they are visible only to the eye of faith, and are required by 
their founder to be received in the "full assurance of hope,'' with 
rejoicing and confidence to the end. 1 

In studying the things of the kingdom of God, the foundation laid 
in the beginning must not be forgotten ; for, at that epoch its prepa- 
ration was commenced. The system of the world is an adaptation to 
man in his fallen state ; and out of the things thus arranged, it is that 
Christ's imperial dominion is being evolved. By the laws of pro- 
creation has been provided a population, which, by the confusion of 
tongues, has been distributed into nations, whose habitations have 
been fixed by the controlling power of the Elohim. Thus nations 
have been formed which are destined to florish in the blessedness of 
the Future Age. Their history records the fiery ordeal through 
which their generations have passed. For the most part, men see 
nothing in it but a strife for territory, and glory, for the advantage of 
their rulers ; but the scriptures reveal the workings of an invisible 
machinery, whose activity is perceived by the believer, in the incidents 
which occasion the conflicts among them. He discerns the leaven, 
hid in the three measures of meal, at work leavening the minds of 
men, and developing the " enmity " between the seeds. And though 
the strife is terrible, he feels no dismay; but rejoices with firm and 
unwavering confidence in the certainty of the triumph of the truth 
and its adherents ; because God has assured him in his word, that the 
King he has provided shall crush the sin-poAver, and make the nations 
lick the dust like a serpent. 2 Now this implies their subjugation; 
and it is to this crisis that all things are at present tending. And 
what then ? Obviously, the transfer of the conquered to the sceptre 
of Jehovah's king who overcomes them ; 3 as it is written, " the 
Gentiles shall wait for his law ;" 4 and " he shall reign over them." 5 
The nations, then, are the subjects of the theocratic empire. By the 
truth and judgments of God brought to bear upon them, exciting and 
controlling their activity, they are being moulded like clay in the 
hands of the potter, for the dominion of the saints in the Future 
Age. 

The hope of these things, whose seeds were sown in the constitu- 
tion of the world at the beginning, was the hope of the gospel then 
in its most general enunciation. The subjects and territory of the 
empire, and the rulers thereof, were plainly marked out. The earth, 
and the conquered seed of the serpent, obedient to the victorious 
seed of the woman, was the gospel of the kingdom in its most simple 
form. No particular portion of the globe, however, was indicated as 
the territory of a kingdom. The Spirit began with universals ; but, 
ac the world became older, the particulars of the promise were un- 

» Heb. iii. fi, 14 i iv. 11 , 18, 10. J Mic. Tii 17. » Be*, xvii. 14. * Isaiah xlii. 4. » Bom. xv. 12 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 199 

folded to the eye of faith. Bat never, from the foundation of the 
world to the sealing up of the testimony of God, was such a king- 
dom, or dominion, promised, as that which is believed in, and glori- 
fied in the ** sacred " psalmody of the Gentiles. Earth, and not the 
skies, is the region where alone it will appear. I shall show this 
abundantly ; and thereby prove, that they who sing such ditties a* 
those of which the following is a specimen, sing what ne'er is, nor 
e'er shall be : 

" With thee we'll reign, with thee we'll rise, 
And kingdoms gain beyond the skies !" 

a According to your faith be it unto yetti." This is a first principle of 
religion delivered by the Great Teacher himself. It is just and right, 
it should be so. No one can blame God for not bestowing upon 
them, what they do not believe in; and, consequently, do not want, or 
seek after. This is precisely the position of the present generation of 
religionists in relation to the kingdom of God. They have faith in a 
sort of kingdom which he hath not promised ; and in the one he ha? 
promised, they do not believe. Hence, they believe in a non-entity; 
and, believing in what is nothing, they will get nothing but confusion 
of face. But, we propose to show them a more excellent way; and 
in so doing invite their attention to 

"THE PROMISE MADE OF GOD UNTO THE FATHERS." 
" The Hope of Israel." 

There is no one, I suppose, who reads the scriptures but admits 
that Paul was persecuted, being imprisoned, scourged, arraigned, and 
manacled, because he preached the gospel of the kingdom in the 
name of Jesus. This is admitted by all. It matters not, then, in 
what terms he states the cause of his trials, it will all amount to this 
declaration, namely, "for the gospel I am called in question, and am 
judged, and bound with this chain." 

But, we will let the apostle state his case in his own words. When 
he stood before Ananias, the high priest, and the council of the Jews, 
he cried out, " on account of the hope, and resurrection of dead 
persons (cifpwi/) lam called in question." 1 But, it may be asked 
here, " Concerning what hope was the question between Paul and his 
persecutors about ?" He tells us in his defence before Agrippa; "I 
Stand and am judged." says he, " for the hope of the promise made 
of God unto our fathers : unto which promise our twelve tribes, 
instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which 
hope's salte, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews." 2 Now, from 
this statement, it appears, 

1. That God had made a certain promise to the fathers of Israel ; 

2. That this promise became the hope of the nation, and was there- 
fore a national question ; 

3. That this promise had been the hope of the twelve tribes in all 
their generations ; was the ground of their worship 1 ; and that they 
hoped to attain to it by rising from the dead. 

• Actor xxiii. 6/ > Acts xxvi. 6. 



200 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

But we have a still plainer avowal, if possible, of the identity of 
this national hope with the hope for which the apostle suffered so 
much. The Lord Jesus had appeared to him after his arraignment 
before Ananias, and said to him, " Be of good cheer, Paul ; for as 
thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also 
at Rome." When he arrived at this city, he called the chief of the 
Jews together, and told them that he had nothing to accuse his nation 
of; but had sent for them to inform them how matters really stood. 
He then told them how it was they found him in the custody of a 
Roman soldier, with fetters upon his person : " On account of the 
hope of Israel/'* said he, " am I bound with this chain." 1 This is 
conclusive. The hope of the promise made to the fathers, was, and, 
indeed, is to this day, the Hope of Israel; and for preaching this hope, 
and inviting the gentiles to a participation in it without other circum- 
cision than that of the heart, he was denounced as a pestilent fellow, 
and unfit to live. 2 

But what was the hope of Israel about ? The answer to this 
question is easy. Having made the chief of the Jews at Rome 
acquainted with the cause of his appeal to Cffisar, they remarked to 
him, that they should like to hear of him what he thought upon the 
question of the national hope, as so strenuously contended for by the 
sect of the Nazarenes. As it was not, however, convenient then,* they 
appointed a future day when they would meet him, and hear what he 
had to say upon the subject. Accordingly, at the time appointed they 
came together at Paul's lodging, and he proceeded to lay before them 
his thoughts upon the subject of Israel's hope. But I cannot do better 
than to state what he did in the words of Luke ; who says that, " he 
expounded and testified to them the kingdom of God, persuading them 
coneerning Jesus, both out of the law of 31oses and out of the 
prophets, from morning till evening." 3 Now who can be so dim of 
vision as not to perceive, that the subject-matter of the hope of Israel 
is the kingdom of God ? And observe, that in giving his thoughts 
of the national hope, the apostle's persuasions turned upon things 
concerning Jesus. The kingdom of God and Jesus were the subjects 
of Paul's testimony, when he preached " the hope of Israel." or " the 
hope of the promise made of God unto the fathers." Having begun 
his testimony with the chiefs of the Jews, some of whom received it, 
he continued to publish it for two years in his own hired house to all 
that visited him, " preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those 
things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence.** 4 
In this way he bore witness for Jesus in Rome, as he had done before 
in Jerusalem. 

But, one might say, if tht hope the apostle preached, and the hope 
of the twelve tribes, were the same hope, why was he persecuted by 
the Jews ? The answer is, because Paul and the rest of the apostles, 
testified that Jesus whom they had crucified was the king whom God 
had anointed to be the judge of Israel in his kingdom, of which they 
were the natural born citizens. They had been constituted '.* a 
kingdom of priests, and a holy nation" by the covenant of Sinai; 

' Acts xxviii. 20. 2 Acts xxiv. 5, 6 ; xxii. 81, 2U. * Acts xxviii, 23. * Acts xxviii . 30, 31. 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 201 

and had on that occasion accepted Jehovah as their king. They were 
therefore the kingdom of God. In after ages, they had demanded a 
king who might go in and out before them. He gave them David ; 
and promised to raise up from among his descendants, sleeping in the 
tomb, a king, who should be immortal, and reign over them for ever, 
according to the provisions of a new constitution. Now, the apostles 
testified that God had raised up Jesus from among the dead for this 
very purpose; and had sent them to the Jews first, to inform them 
that if they desired to reign as princes over Israel and the nations with 
his king, it was not enough for them to be natural born descendants of 
Abraham ; but that they must acknowledge Jesus as King of Israel, 
and walk in the steps of Abraham's faith. They testified furthermore, 
that, if they would not acknowledge him as their king, seeing that 
the kingdom and empire of God would require kings and priests to 
administer its affairs, they would turn to the gentiles, and invite them 
to accept the honor, and glory of the kingdom, upon terms of perfect 
equality with Israel ; for so the Lord had commanded them to do. 
This mortified the Jews exceedingly. They despised Jesus because 
of his poverty, and ignominious death. A suffering and crucified 
king was a reproach to the nation in their esteem ; and to be put on 
a level with Gentiles, whom they regarded as "dogs," filled them 
with indignation and madness against the preachers of such pestilent 
heresies. But it was the apostolic mission to withstand their fury 
with u the testimony of God;" and to establish their preaching by 
what is written in the law of Moses and the prophets, and by what 
they had seen and heard, and which was attested by the power of 
God exhibited in the miracles they performed. 

We have, then, arrived at a great truth, namely, that the " one 
hope of the gospel " preached by the apostles to the Jew first, and 
afterwards to the Greek, was " the hope of Israel^' that the subject 
of it was the kingdom of God and Shiloh ; and that these were the 
matter of the promise made to the fathers. It remains for us now to 
look into this promise so that we may come to understand it well; 
for its provisions are the things of the kingdom ; and to be ignorant 
of these is to be without understanding, and therefore faithless, of the 
gospel of Christ. The apostle Paul, who will be our interpreter, tells 
us that the promise, which is the subject of the " one hope" was 
made to " the fathers" This is a phrase which signifies sometimes 
the predecessors of the generation of the apostle's time, who were 
contemporary with the prophets \ l and at others, the fathers Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob. 2 It is in the latter sense the apostle uses the phrase 
in connection with "the promises;" for speaking of Abraham, Isaac, 
and Jacob, he says, " these all died in faith not having received the 
promises;" that is, the things contained in the promise : and after 
adding *' a cloud of witnesses," who lived in after ages, and who 
illustrated their faith in the promise made to the fathers, he concludes 
by saying, " these all, having received a good report through faith, 
received not the promise : God having provided some better thing for 
us, that they without us should not be made perfect," 3 by a resurrection 

> Heb. i. 1. 3 Exod. iv. 6. 3 Heb. xi. 13, 89, 40. 



202 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

from the dead to inherit the kingdom. They must rise from the dust 
before they can receive the promise. They are imperfect now, being 
in ruins. But when they are re-fashioned by the Spirit of God, and 
come out of the ground glorious, incorruptible, and powerful, men, 
" equal to the Elohim," they will have been ** made perfect," and fit 
for the kingdom of God. But, they are not to be thus perfected until 
all the believers of the promise are brought in ; for ail the faithful of 
all previous ages are to be perfected together. 

The study of the promise unconnected with the study of the fathers 
is impossible. Those who are ignorant of the biographies of Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob, must be ignorant of the gospel; for these patriarchs 
were the depositories of the promises, 1 which constitute the gospel- 
hope ; and of them, Abraham is especially designated as the holder 
of the promises 2 — rov zx oVTa Ta « eirayysXtu*. It is for this reason, that 
a man must become of Abraham's seed by adoption through Jesus 
Christ. Unless a son of Abraham by a like faith and disposition 
with him, neither Jew nor Gentile, can share in Abraham's estate. 
It is only Abraham's spiritual family that can divide with him the 
promises he holds. God has made him the spiritual father of man- 
kind ; and the Lord Jesus, the elder brother of the family. If 
therefore, a man become a brother of Jesus, he at the same time 
becomes a son of Abraham ; for Jesus is Abraham's seed, and was 
in the loins of Isnac, when Abraham offered his only son, and received 
him from the dead again, in a figure. If the reader understand this 
matter, he will fully comprehend the meaning of the apostle's saving, 
that believers " are all the children of God (being Abraham's) by 
faith in Christ Jesus. For as many as have been baptized into Christ 
have put on Christ. And if Christ's, then Abrahains seed, and 
heihs according to the promise" * 

After what has been advanced, no more, I think, need be said upon 
the importance of the subject before us. I shall therefore proceed 
now to a more particular illustration of the glad tidings of the king- 
dom by an exposition of 

THE PROMISE MADE TO ABRAHAM. 

The descendants of Noah were beginning to tread in the footsteps 
of the antediluvians. They became ambitious of making u a 
naViO," for themselves, irrespective of the name of the Lord. This 
their way was iheir folly; yet their posterity approved their endeavor. 
Idolatry was beginning to prevail ; and they proceeded to build a city, 
and a rower, whose top should reach to heaven, in honor of their god. 
But the Lord came down and put a stop to their enterprize, by con- 
founding their language, and scattering them abroad over the earth. 

Noah had lived 292 years after the flood, when three sons were 
born to Terah, a descendant of Shem, Terah being 70 years old. 
Shriii was a worshipper of the true God, whom Noah styled, " the 
Lord God of Shem." 1 Terah, however, seems to have departed 
from the simplicity of the truth : and was, probably, engaged in the 

» Heb. xi. 17. * Heb. vii. 6. » Gal. iii. 26—29. « Gen. ix. 28. 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

mad scheme of making "a name" for the sons of men in the land of 
Shinar. But that undertaking being interrupted, it is probable, lie 
migrated from Babel, the name of the city' they were building, in a 
northerly direction. Be this as it may, we find him in Ch;ildea at a 
place called Ur. 2 At this place, eastward of " the great river 
Euphrates," Abram, Nahor, and Haran, were born to Terah. They 
lived there many years, serving the gods of Shinar. The idolatry of 
Terah's family appears from the testimony of God himself, who said 
to Israeli " Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood (the 
Euphrates) in old time, even Terah the father of Abraham, and the 
father of Nachor : and they served other gods." When Joshua re- 
ported this to the people, he admonished them, saying, "put away 
the gods which your fathers served on the othrr side of the flood, and 
in Egypt, and serve ye the Lord. And if it seem evil to you to 
serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether 
the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the 
flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell : but as 
for me and my house we will serve the Lord. And the people said unto 
Joshua, The Lord our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey." 3 
While Terah's family dwelt in Ur of the Chaldees, the Lord 
appeared to them, and said to Abram, "Get thee out of thy country, 
and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall show 
thee."* This command caused them to remove from Ur, and to 
journey towards the land of Canaan ; on their way to which, they 
arrived at Haran, and dwelt there. 5 Thus, Terah, Abram, *^arai, 
and L<>t, obeyed the voice of the Lord, and separated themselves 
from the idolators of the Chaldean district of Mesopotamia. They 
remained in Haran till the Lord appeared again to Abram. On this 
occasion, the Lord came to show him the land he was to go to; but 
did not immediately name it. He appears only to have told him to 
travel eastward until he met him again ; for it is written, that he went 
in that direction, "not knowing whither 'he went." At this interview 
in Haran, the Lord said to Abram, * I will make of thee a -cheat 
nation, and I will bless thee and make thy name great ; and thou 
shalt be a blessing : and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse 
him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all the families of the earth 
be blessed." 6 Alluding to this promise, the apostle sa\s, that in 
making it, " the gospel was preached to Abraham " — the glad tidings 
of ble-seclness to the nations, when Abraham and his descendants 
should be great, and renowned throughout the earth. Abraham 
believed this gospel promisorily announced to him by the Lord God. 
Nor was his faith inoperative. It was a living, moving, faith ; a 
faith through which he obtained a good report. By the influence of 
that faith, which embraces the things hoped for, it is testified that, 
Abraham tw when he was called to go out into a country which he 
should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed ; and he went out, not 
knowing whither he went. For he looked for the city having 
foundations, whose architect and builder is God." 6 He turned his 

i Gen. xi. 28. ' Josh. xxiv. 2, 14, 15, 24. 3 Gen. xv. 7 ; Acts vii. 2, 3. * Gen. xi. 21. * Gen. xii.8,8. 

e Heb. xi. 8, 10. 



204 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

back on Babel, and with Sarai, and his nephew, Lot, and all his sub- 
stance, he left his father's house, crossed the Euphrates and the Jordan, 
and entered the land of Canaan, still travelling onward until he 
arrived at Sichem, in the plain of Moreh. Having come thus far 
into the country, the Lord appeared again to Abram to let him know 
that he was in the land he intended to show him ; and added this 
remarkable promise, saying, *i Unto thy Seed 7vill I give this 
fand:'i 

Let us pause here in the biography of Abram, and consider this 
promise. Here was a country, lying between the Euphrates and the 
Mediterranean, in which were Abram and all his house, with his 
flocks and herds, and which was in the actual possession of warlike 
tribes, living in cities walled up to heaven ; concerning this country, 
the Lord, to whom heaven and earth belong, said to Abram, I will 
give it to thy Seed, when as yet he had no child. But it is particu- 
larly interesting to know, who is intended by Abram's Seed in this 
promise 1 Is it the " great nation " spoken of in the former promise; 
or, is it some particular personage to whom the Land of Canaan is 
here promised as an inheritance ? I shall offer no opinion upon the 
subject, but let the apostle to the Gentiles answer the question. In 
writing to the disciples in Galatia about the inheritance, he says, 
" The promises were made to Abraham and to his Seed. God saith 
not, And to seeds, as of many persons ; but as of one person, as it is 
written, And unto thy Seed, which is Christ"- The apostle here 
tells us that the Land of Canaan was promised to the Christ, when 
God said to Abram, " Unto thy Seed will I give this land." Let the 
reader, then, bear this in mind as one of the first principles of the 
gospel of the kingdom. Deny this, and there is an end to all under- 
standing of the truth. 

Having built an altar at Sichem, to commemorate the Lord's 
promise concerning his Seed's inheritance, and sojourned there a while, 
he removed to a mountain between Bethel and Hai, where he built 
another altar, and called upon the Name of the Lord. After this he 
journeyed, going on still toward the South. 

Having been driven into Egypt by famine in the Land of Canaan, 
he sojourned there for a time, and acquired much wealth. After it 
had subsided, he left Egypt and returned to the station between Bethel 
and Hai, where he called on the Name of the Lord. Soon after this, 
Lot separated from Abram, and went, and dwelt among the cities of 
the plain, now submerged under the Dead Sea. After this separation 
the Lord appeared to him again, and said, " Lift up now thine eyes, 
and look from the place where thou art, northward, and southward, 
and eastward, and westward: for all the land which thou seest, to 
thee will I give it, and to thy Seed for ever. And I will make 
thy seed (plural here) as the dust of the earth ; so that if a man can 
number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. 
Arise, walk through the land in the length of it, and in the breadth of 
it : for 1 will give it unto thee."* 

This was an amplification of the promise given at Haran and 

« Gen. xii. 7. 3 Gal. iii. 16. 3 Gen. xiii. 14—17. 



THE THINGS OF THE KINODOM OF GOD. 200 

Sichem. At the former place, the promise of blessing which was to 
come upon him and the nations; and in which his seed in the sense of 
a multitude was to become great — was given in general terms ; at the lat- 
ter place, the Christ was promised as descending from him to inherit the 
Land of Canaan : but in these promises, nothing was said about what 
Abram was to have, nor as to how long the Christ was to possess the 
country. In the promise, however, amplified near Bethel, these 
desiderata were supplied. Abram was informed that he should in- 
herit the country as well as Christ ; and that they should both possess 
it "for ever." Having received this assurance, he removed his tent 
from Bethel, and went and pitched it near Hebron in the plain of 
Mamre, and builded there an altar to the Lord. 

When Abram had resided nearly ten years in the Land of Canaan, 
the whole country was in arms east of the Jordan, and to the north 
and south of Abram's encampment. A rebellion had broken out 
against Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, who appears to have been the 
principal potentate of the time. During the war, Sodom was attacked 
and taken, and Lot, and all his goods, carried away with the spoil of 
the city, for he dwelt there. Abram having heard of this, hastily 
collected a company of three hundred and eighteen retainers, and 
started in pursuit of the spoilers, whom he overtook and put to the 
rout as far as Hobah, on the west of Damascus. He recovered all 
the spoil, and returned south, considerably disturbed in mind, doubt- 
less, on account of the danger of the times. 

At this crisis, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, 
and comforted him with the assurance, saying, " Fear not, Abram, 
I am thy shield, and thine exceeding great reward." Abram was 
now eighty-five years old, and he had no child. How, then, could the 
promise made of God at Haran, and repeated at Sichem and Bethel, 
be fulfilled, seeing that he was childless ? He was even now an old 
man, and had concluded to make Eliezer of Damascus his heir ; how 
then could the great, the exceeding great, reward be realized by him ? 
Prompted by these considerations, but in no wise distrusting God, 
Abram said, " Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go child- 
less, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus ? 
Behold, to me thou hast given no seed ; and, lo, one born in my house 
is my heir." But, " the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 
'This (Eliezer) shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth 
out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir."' The Lord's messenger, 
who brought this word to Abram, then led him forth from his tent, 
and directed his attention to the heavens, saying, " Count the stars if 
thou art able to number them : and he said unto him So shall thy 
seed be." This was a great draft upon the faith of an old man of 
upwards of fourscore with a wife of seventy-five years of age. But, 
it is testified of him, that " against hope he believed in hope, that he 
might become the father of many nations, according to that which 
was spoken, saying, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in 
faith, he considered not his own body afterwards dead, when he was 
about a hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb: 
he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was 



206 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

strong in faith, giving glory to God ; and being fully persuaded that, 
what he had promised, he was also able to perform," 1 Such was 
the manner of Abram's faith ; his mode of thinking upon the things 
reported to him in the word of the Lord ; and his disposition in rela- 
tion to them. So pleased was God with him, that " he counted it to 
him fo r righteousness" 

Abram, having first sought the kingdom of God in leaving his 
father's house to " seek the city, whose architect and builder is God," 
had now become the subject of the righteousness of God by faith ; so 
that the Lord was now prepared to add all other things to him.* He 
reminded him of the purpose for which he had brought him into the 
Land of Canaan, saying, " I, the Lord, brought thee out of Ur of the 
Ghaldees to give thee this land to inherit it" Abram had been in the 
country ten years. He had become well acquainted with the land, 
and he perceived that it was a noble and desirable inheritance. 
When, therefore, the angel referred to the Lord's promise, Abram 
requested a sign, saying, " Lord God whereby shall I know that 
I shall possess it?" In reply to this, he was commanded to take 
" a heifer of three years old y and a ram of three years old f and a 
turtle dove, and a young pigeon." Having killed them, " he divided 
them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another, but the 
birds divided he not." This sacrifice was representative of the quali- 
ties of the Christ, concerning whom confirmation was about to be 
made, attestative of Abram's and his Seed's possession of the land in the 
fulness of the times afterwards to be arranged. From the time of the 
sacrifice until the going down of the sun, Abram was engaged in 
watching the carcasses, so as to keep off the birds of prey. It is 
probable that the sacrifice was exposed about three hours ; at all 
events, " when even was come," 3 and the sun was going down, Abram 
fell into a state of figurative death, by a deep sleep, and horror of 
great darkness coming over him. This is a very remarkable feature 
in the case before us. Abram had built altars, and had called upon 
the name of the Lord before ; but there were no such attendant 
circumstances as these. Here, however, he stands watching the 
exposed sacrificial victims until even ; and then is laid powerless in 
the similitude of death, and in the intense darkness of the grave. 
While he was in this state, the Lord revealed to Abram the fortunes 
of his descendants in the ensuing four hundred years ; the judgment 
of the nation that should oppress them j their subsequent exodus from 
bondage with great wealth ; his own peaceful death in a good old 
age ; and the return of his descendants into the Land of Canaan 
again. The following are the words of the testimony ; ft Know of a 
surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not their's, 
and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred vears ; 
and also that nation whom they shall serve, will I judge : and after- 
ward shall they come out with great substance. And thou shah «^o 
to thy fathers in peace ; thou sha/t be buried in a good old age. But 
in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity 
of the Amorites is not yet lull." 

' Rom. iv. 18—21. ' Matt. vi. 83. » Matt, jcxvii. 46 ; Mark xv. 42. 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 20* 

I suppose the reader need hardly be informed that all this was 
literally accomplished. Jacob and his family, consisting of seventy 
persons, migrated into Egypt two hundred and five years after the 
revelation was made to Abram. When a king arose in Egypt who 
knew not Joseph, the saviour of the country under God, the Israelites 
were sorely oppressed till the end of four hundred years from Abram's 
deep sleep. After this four hundred years had expired, even thirty 
years after, God having judged the Egyptians, they left the country 
with great substance ; and in the fourth generation re-entered the 
Land of Canaan, as God had said. The iniquity of the Amorites 
was then full ; and Israel under Joshua became the executioners of 
divine vengeance upon them. 

But God had said to Abram at Bethel, I will give thee the Land 
of Canaan for ever; and in the answer to this question " whereby 
shall I know that I shall inherit it ?" here tells him that he should 
die, and be buried in a good old a^e ! Now the promise to Abram 
rests upon the veracity of God. If we attempt to interpret it by the 
history of the past, we are brought to the conclusion that the promise 
to Abram has failed. Stephen alludes to this apparent failure of the 
promise to Abram in his speech before the Sanhedrim in these words, 
*' God said to him, come into the land which I shall show thee. 
Then came he into this land in which ye dwell. And he gave him 
none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he 
promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed 
(tw <nr£pfiaTi f in the singular, to one person called the seed) after him, 
when as yet he had no child." 1 What shall we say then? Shall 
we dare to say that God hath lied to Abram ; or, that he meant 
something else than what he promised ? Far be it from the writer or 
the reader to insult God by any such insinuation ; but rather let us 
say with the apostle in reference to this particular incident, that " God 
cannot lie ;" that in promising to Abram an everlasting possession of 
the Land of Canaan; and nevertheless, afterwards declaring that he 
should die and be buried, and his posterity be oppressed for four 
hundred years — *'he promised" to him a resurrection to "eternal 
life* before the arrangement of the times (jrpo xpovwv aiwvtcov.) ~ If 
Abram were sentenced to die, how could the promise of God con- 
cerning the land be fulfilled, unless he were raised from the dead ? 
And as he is to possess it for ever, when he is raised, he must be 
brought up incorruptible and immortal to enable him to possess it 
everlastingly. The promise of eternal life, then, consists in promising 
a mortal man and his son possession of a terrestrial country for ever ; 
and this promise to the two, becomes a promise to all who believe it ; 
and are constituted one in them. Abram understood this ; and so do 
all who become Abraham's seed through Jesus as the Christ, con- 
cerning whom the promise was made. The apostle says, he saw the 
promises in their fulfilment afar off, but was persuaded of them, and 
embraced them, and confessed that he was a stranger and pilgrim on 
the Land. And in saying such things he plainly declared that he 
was seeking a country. And truly, if he had been mindful of the 

' Acts vii, 5. ' Tit. i. 2. 



208 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

Mesopotamian Chaldea from whence lie emigrated, he might have 
returned if he had pleased. But no ; he desired a better country 
than. that beyond the Euphrates, that is, the Land of Canaan under a 
heavenly constitution : wherefore God is not ashamed to be called the 
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the God of ail whose faith 
is like theirs in word and spirit: for he prepares (nroi}ia<Tt 1. a. 
historical tense) for them a city. 1 

This manner of teaching the doctrine of a resurrection, namely, by 
'promising, or declaring, something that, necessitates it, is not peculiar 
to the case before us. There are other instances ; one, however, will 
be sufficient at present. I refer to the dispute between Jesus and the 
Sadducees. The latter, who admitted as authority only the writings 
of Moses, denied the resurrection of the dead. In proving it, there- 
fore, to their conviction, it was necessary to demonstrate it from his 
testimony. This Jesus undertook to do. He first stated the proposition, 
saying, Moses has shown that the dead are raised. He then directed 
their attention to the place where Moses teaches this resurrection.- 
It is there written, "I, the Lord, am the God of Abraham, the God 
of Isaac, and the God of Jacob ; " in recording this, Moses teaches 
the resurrection of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. " But," says one, 
" I see nothing said about resurrection there. 1 ' Nor did the Sadducees. 
"No," continues the objector, "nor about the dead either; for 
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, are not dead ; but alive in heaven, 
where Christ, and Lazarus, and the thief, are. They are all living; 
and therefore God is their God." This is very good Platonism ; but 
very bad logic, and egregious nonsense. When Jesus quoted the 
passage, it was to prove that "the dead are raised ;" the question 
therefore is, how does this testimony of Moses prove it ? In this wav — 
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, are dead ; but ** God is not the God of 
the dead," yet he is called "their God ; " therefore, in order to be 
their God, they must be made alive, " for God is the God of the 
living : " hence, to style him " God of Abraham " teaches the 
resurrection by implication; "for all live to him" in the age to 
come. 3 But why call him the God of these fathers now? Bv 
anticipation ; for, says the apostle, " God, who makes alive the dead, 
styles the not being (t« /xtj ovt«) as being'" (w ovtu-)* that is, God's 
promise is so certain to be fulfilled, that he speaks of what is to be as 
though it were past. He has promised to raise Abraham, Isaac, and 
Jacob, who while dead have no being; and as he cannot lie, their 
restoration to being is inevitable ; God therefore speaks of them as 
though they had already been raised from the dead, and "is not 
ashamed to be called their God." God is not the God of dead men 
who are not to rise again. He is the God only of those who become 
his children by being the children of the resurrection ; and who can 
die no more, because they are equal to the angels. 5 Such, then, is 
the way in which the doctrine of the resurrection is taught by the 
Lord God in Moses and the prophets; plainly indeed but in such a 
manner as to require the exercise of the reasoning faculties of men. 
But to return to Hebron. Eternal life having been promised to 

» Heb. xL 8—16. « Exotl iii. 6. 3 Luko xx. 27-38. « Rom. iv. 17. * Luke xx. 36. 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 209 

Abram and Christ by constituting them heirs of the land of Canaan 
for ever ; the Lord proceeded to grant Abram a sign whereby he 
might know assuredly that he and his seed should inherit it. The 
sun having gone down entirely, which was figurative of the setting of 
li the Sun of Righteousness " below the horizon of "fife, Abram 
beheld " a smoking furnace, and a flame of fire pass between the 
pieces." This was a sign which could not be mistaken. The animals 
he had slain, and watched, and defended so long from the birds of 
prey, were consumed by fire from heaven. By this he knew, and 
was assured, that he and his seed, the Christ, should inherit the land 
for ever. But this was not all. On the same day, the Lord converted 
his promise made at Sichem, and repeated near Bethel, into a covenant 
with Abram, as Moses testifies, saying, " in the same day the Lord 
made a covenant with Abraham, saying, unto thy Seed have I given 
this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river 
Euphrates: " inhabited by u the Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the 
Kadmonites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaim, 
find the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girghashites, and the 
Jebusites." l 

In commeniing upon these things, the apostle saith, u the covenant 
previously confirmed by God concerning Christ (tts Xp«rroi/) the law 
which came into existence (ysyovws) four hundred and thirty years 
after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. 
For if the inheritance (the land of Canaan and its attributes) be of 
the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by 
promise " " To understand this we must know, that a question 
agitated the congregations of Galatia, namely, that it was necessary 
for the disciples from among the Gentiles to be circumcised, and to 
keep the law of Moses as well as to believe the gospel and be baptized^ 
or they could have no part in the inheritance covenanted to Abraham 
and Christ, The apostle styles thisjudaizing, and preaching "another 
gpspel." It was the beginning of that awful apostasv, the fruit of 
which we behold in the ecclesiastical system of our day. He con- 
tended strenuously against this perversion of the truth in all places. 
The judaizers argued that a right to Canaan when made a heavenly 
country under Curist, was derived from the law of Moses; the apostle 
denied this, and maintained that the law could give no title to it. 
That it could only be obtained •' through the righteousness of the 
faith ; " for the promise that he should be the heir of the world, was 
not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the 
righteousness of faith. For if they who are of the law be heirs, 
faith is made void, and the promise is made of none effect : because 
the law worketh wrath. Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by 
grace; to the end that the promise might be sure to all the seed ; not 
to that (portion of the seed) only which is of the law, but to that 
also which is of the faith of Abraham ; who is the father of us all," 
both Jews and Gentiles, •' before God whose promises he believed ; M 
as it is written, " a father of many nations have I constituted thee." 5 
The judaizers claimed a right to the inheritance because they bore the 

'Gen xv. ' Gal. iii. 17, 18. * Rom .iv. 13, 14, 1G, 17. 

O 



210 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

seal of the covenant, marked in their flesh by circumcision ; the 
apostle, because he believed the same things that Abraham did, and 
was the subject of God's righteousness through the faith of Jesus 
Christ, without any title derived from the law of Moses. 

Seeing that he threw the law out of the question altogether, he 
anticipates the objection, viz., if this be so, wherefore, then, serveth 
the law ? Of what use is it ? To this he replies, " It was added 
because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the 
promise was made.''' " It was a schoolmaster until Christ ; but when 
*f the things of the Name of Jesus Christ " were manifested for 
faith ; or, as he expresses it, " after that faith' is come," Israel is " no 
longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all," both Jews and Gen- 
tiles, " the children of God in Christ Jesus through the faith." 1 

The apostle lays great stress upon the covenant of promise being 
prior both to circumcision and the law of Moses ; consequently, 
Abram could not derive his title to Canaan and the world, from either 
of them ; for the promise was given before he became the subject of 
the righteousness wkich is by faith of it; and he was constituted 
righteous before the promise was made a covenant and confirmed ; 
and this confirmation was fourteen years before the institution of 
circumcision, and 430 years before the promulgation of the Law of 
Moses. " Faith," says the apostle, " was reckoned to Abraham for 
righteousness when he was in uncircumcision ;" and then it was, he 
was constituted the father of many nations, and Heir of the World. 

The promise, before it became a confirmed covenant with Abram, 
indicated the country he is to inherit ; but it did not point out its 
territorial frontiers. This deficiency was supplied at the confirmation. 
It was to extend from the Euphrates to the Nile, comprehending a 
tract of country of considerable extent, and inhabited by the nations 
enumerated in " The Will." Abram, therefore, could be at no loss 
to know in what direction, or to what limits, his future country was 
to extend ; for he had travelled it all over in its entire length and 
breadth. Now, if a map of the territorial area indicated in the 
covenant be examined, it will be seen that the broadest extent is 
"from sea to sea " as it is expressed in scripture ; 2 that is, from the 
Mediterranean to the Persian Gulph; and its greatest length, " from 
the rivers to the ends of the land;" or, from the Euphrates at its 
junction with the gulph, northward ; and from the Pelusiac branch of 
the Nile, to the entrance into Hamath. 

But, the frontiers of the territory were afterwards more particularly 
marked out at the time of the captivity in Babylon. The twelve 
tribes were then all in exile from the land, and it was once more 
wholly possessed by the Gentiles, as it is now. They were powerless 
and prostrate under the heel of the oppressor ; and without hope of 
recovering the country by their own efforts. At this crisis, the Lord 
revealed to them the extent to which in after times they should re- 
possess their country. "This," said he, " shall be the border, whereby 
ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Isiae*. 
And this shall be the border of the land toward the north side, fVuU 

» Gal. iii. 19—20. ' Tsalm lirii. 8 ; Zech. ix. 10. 



THE THING* OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 211 

the great sea (Mediterranean), the way of Hethlon, as men go to 
Zedad ; Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of 
Damascus, and the border of Hamath ; Hazarhatticon, which is by 
the coast of Hauran. And the border from the sea shall be Hazar- 
enan, the border of Damascus, and the north northward, and the 
border of Hamath. This is the north side of the land. And the 
east side ye shall measure from Hauran, and from Damascus, and 
from Gilead, and from the land of Israel by Jordan, from the border 
unto the East Sea." And this is the east side running along the 
Euphrates. And the south side southward from Tamar to the waters 
of strife in Kadesh, to the river toward the Great Sea. 1 This is the 
south side toward Teman. The west side also shall be the Great Sea 
from the (west end of the south) border, till a man come over against 
Hamath. This is the west side. So shall ye divide this land unto 
you according to the tribes of Israel." 2 

Now, let it never be forgotten in the investigation of " the things 
of the kingdom of God," that the Israelites have never possessed the 
country as defined in this survey since it was revealed to them through 
the prophet. The twelve tribes have not even occupied the land 
together ; and those of them that have dwelt there after the return 
from Babylon to the overthrow by the Romans, held but a very 
small portion of it, while the gentile kingdoms lorded it over all the 
rest. Now, either God is a liar, as some people make him out to be 
who deny the restoration of the twelve tribes ; or, the time he refers 
to in the promise of the land according to these boundaries, is not 
arrived. This is the only conclusion a believer in the gospel of the 
kingdom can come to. All theories opposed to this are mere subli- 
mated infidelity. If Israel be not restored then the promise to 
Abraham will have failed. But Abraham's seed are under no appre- 
hension of this kind. They believe in God, who has sworn by 
himself, that what he has promised he is able, willing, and deter- 
mined, to perform. Here, then, is a noble domain, lying between 
Assyria, Persia, Arabia, the Red Sea, Egypt, and the Mediterranean ; 
capable, when peopled by an industrious, enlightened, and well and 
strongly governed, nation, of commanding the commerce and sove- 
reignty of Asia, and the wealth of Europe and America. Such is 
the land, containing, according to the survey of the British govern- 
ment, o00,(!00 square miles, concerning which God said to Abram, 
" to thee will I give it and unto thy seed for ever." 

But, the apostle says, that the covenant, confirmed 430 yfears 
before the law was promulged, was " concerning Christ " especially. 
It was the Father's Will, of which Christ being the Mediator, he 
became the Testator of the Will. This being the case, his death was 
necessitated; for so long as he was alive the covenant had no force. 
Neither Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, nor himself, could inherit the land 
for ever, until the covenant was ratified by his death. Hence, his 
was " the blood of the New Testament, which was shed for many ;" 
that they which are called might receive the remission of sins, and 
obtain the promise of the inheritance for ever. 3 The covenant of 

Ezek. xlvii. 19 j xlviii. 28. ' Enek. xlvii. 13—21. J Matt. xxvi. 28 ; Keb. ix. 15—17. 

o 2 



21.2 THE THIN OS .OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

promise, then, was typically confirmed 430 years before the law; 
and finally dedicated by the death of the mediatorial testator ; this 
being accomplished, the Will could not be disannulled, or added to. 1 
But when we look at Jesus in the light of this Divine Will and 
Testament, we perceive some grand and important deficiencies in the 
administration of its legacies, if the history of the past is to be taken 
as the criterion of its accomplishment. In the historical view of the 
Will, we are led to the conclusion that it hath not been administered 
at all ; and that its legatees have received none of their Father's 
estate. Look at Abraham. He has received nothing. The same is 
true of all who believed the things hoped for from his day to this. 
Even the Lord Jesus, who has been perfected, has received nothing 
of what is willed to him in the covenant, or testament. "1 will 
give," said God, " this land to thy Seed for ever." Now look at the 
facts in the case. "Jesus came to his own, and his own received him 
not." 2 What is to be understood by this ? What is signified by 
" his own " twice repeated in this text ? It reads in the original, 
"he came eisTa iSia, and 6i tSioi received him not." The facts in the 
case must supply the words understood. Jesus came to his own 
kingdom, or realm ; but his own people, the Jews, who are "the 
children of the kingdom," did not receive him; but rejected, and 
crucified him. The reading is, then, " he came £i<? n-a idia fiao-iXsia into 
his own realm, and <n i<$«h Xaot his own people did not receive him. 
But to as many as received him, to them gave he power to become 
the sons of God, to them who believe in his name." But, what con- 
stituted the land of Canaan his realm, more than John the Baptist's, 
or any other Jew's ? Because it was promised to him in the cove- 
nant ; and because he was the sole surviving heir of David's throne. 
We see, however, that, like his father Abraham, he never possessed 
even so much as to set his foot upon ; and so poor was he, that 
though "the foxes had holes, and the birds of the air had nests, yet he 
had not where to lay his head." Under God, he was indebted to 
some of those who received him for his daily bread. What signifi- 
cance* this fact attaches to that petition of the prayer he taught his 
disciples, saying, " Our Father, who art in heaven, give us this day 
our daily bread." There were thirteen of them, himself and the 
twelve, who had all to be provided for from day to day ; and though 
he could multiply a few loaves and fishes to feed thousands, his own 
wants were supplied by contribution. 

When Jesus was crucified, and buried, his enemies conceived that 
his claims to the realm and throne of David were extinct. The 
common people would have taken him and made him king, if he 
would have permitted them ; but the rulers, already possessed of the 
vineyard, hated him; for they knew that if he should obtain the 
kingdom they would be cast out. They rejoiced, therefore, at hi*", 
death. But their joy was soon turned into dismay ; for God raised 
him from the dead. And for what purpose? In the words of the 
apostle, God raised up Christ to sit vpon David 's throne ; 3 for, in 
the words of David, "the righteous shall inherit the Land, and dwell 

Gal. Hi. 15. * John i. 11. » Acts ii. 30; Luke i. 31—33. 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 213 

therein for ever;" and again, " wait on the Lord, and keep his way, 
and he shall exalt thee to inherit the Land." 1 

But, even after his resurrection, when he was made both Lord and 
Christ, though "heir of all things," yet were not all things subjected 
to him. He received neither the land nor the sceptre ; but ascended 
to heaven, having received nothing promised in the will. He left the 
land, the kingdom, Abraham, and all the prophets, behind him. In 
after years, the land was reduced to a wilderness, its cities laid waste, 
and the Hebrew commonwealth dissolved. It became the battle 
ground of crusaders, Saracens, and Turks ; and until this day, has 
been subjected to the worst of the heathen. Thirty-nine centuries 
have passed away since God confirmed his promise of the land to 
Christ ; who has been waiting eighteen hundred years at his right 
hand for its fulfilment. Is Jesus never to possess the land from sea 
to sea, and from the rivers to its extremities ? Are Turks and Arabs, 
and a motley crew of papists, Greeks, and Fellahs, to perpetuate its 
reproach for ever ? Or is a ge* tile dominion to be established there 
to lord it over Asia ? Where it? there a believer of the gospel of the 
kingdom to be found who will affirm it? Millions of"prqfessing 
christians" imagine something of the kind ; but they are infidels, and 
insulters of God ; not believers in the " covenants of promise." To 
affirm any other destiny for Palestine and Syria, than that stated in 
the promise, is in effect to tell God that he has spoken falsely. But, 
on the ground that " he cannot lie," what does the nature of the case 
necessitate in order to fulfil the promise to Abraham and Christ ? 
This is the answer, and let the reader mark it well : — to meet the 
demands of the covenant it is indispensable that Jesus return to 
Canaan , and that he raise Abraham from the dead. Reason and 
scripture agree in this. Hence, the second advent is as necessary as 
the first. The appearing in sinful flesh was necessary for the dedication 
of the covenant by the death of the substitutional testator ; and the 
second appearing in the spiritual nature in power and great glory, for 
the administration of the will by the sole executor. For it is manifest, 
that the will cannot be administered except by one who is all powerful. 
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all constitutionally in them, are 
legatees. The legacies bequeathed to them are eternal life, the land 
of Canaan, and " a city," or state, " whose architect and builder is 
God." Hence, the executor must be able to form them out of the 
dust, and to give them life for ever. He must be mighty in battle ; 
for he will have to expel the Mohammedans, catholics, and other 
barbarians, from the land ; and to restore the kingdom of David " as 
in the days of old." The accomplishment of these, and many other 
things to be hereafter developed, makes the future pre-millennial 
advent of Christ a necessity. There is no room for opinion upon the 
subject ; for opinion implies doubt. It is a matter of absolute 
certainty ; and the belief of it is as essential to a participation in the 
kingdom of God, as faith in the death and resurrection of the Lord. 
For a man to deny the advsnt of Jesus to Palestine in power and 
glory before the millennium is to proclaim to men and angels his 

' P&alm. xxxvii. 29, 34. 



214 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

utter ignorance of the glorious gospel of the blessed God. To talk 
about his coming at the end of the millennium to make a bonfire of 
the world, is ridiculous. Restitution and renovation, and not destruc- 
tion of the earth, is the Almighty fiat, as I have already shown at 
sufficient length. " Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly ! " is the 
heart-breathing of the true-believer, who with the hearing ear rejoices 
in the bridegroom's voice, which says, " behold, I come as a thief, 
and quickly ; and my reward is with vie, to give every man according 
as his work shall be. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his 
garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame." * The 
prolonged absence of Christ for ten more centuries would break the 
hearts of the saints of God ; who have long since cried with a loud 
voice, saying, " how long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not 
judge and avenge our blood on them who dwell on the earth ? " 
No, no ; the day is come at length, when he is about to gather the 
vine of the earth, to reward his saints, and to destroy the oppressors 
of the world. 2 TheH will " the kingdoms of the world become those 
of Jehovah and of his King ; and he shall reign for ever and ever j" 
and the covenant with Abraham concerning Christ will be fulfilled 
in every jot and tittle of its details. 

ABRAHAM TEIE HEIR OF THE WORLD. 

Abraham and Christ are inseparably associated as co-heirs of the 
covenant of promise. Hence, they are joint-legatees of the country 
mentioned in the will. But, out of this arises a question of consid- 
erable interest, namely, when they jointly possess the land of Canaan, 
what will be their relation to the world at large ? The answer to this 
is, that at that time their name will be great in the earth ; Abram's 
descendants will be a great nation ; and he and Christ will be a 
blessing, by all the families of the earth being 'in them. This was 
stated in general terms when the gospel was preached to Abraham at 
Haran. In searching out these matters the phrases " in thee " and 
" in him" and " in thy seed" should be particularly attended to. 
They are little words, but full of meaning. The reader knows what 
it is to be in a house, and he is aware that he must pass into it before 
he can be in it. This is the literal. Now, suppose we call the house 
a man; and in answer to the question, where is he ? we say he is in 
the man, this would be to speak figuratively ; but still scripturally 
and intelligibly. Before, however, a person, or a nation, or a mul- 
titude of nations, could be said to be in the man Abraham, and in the 
man Christ Jesus, it is equally clear that, they must pass into Abraham, 
and into Christ. Now, although many nations may literally come 
out of one man, a multitude of nations cannot literally be packed into 
one man. When, therefore, nations and individuals are said to be in 
Abraham and in Christ, it is manifest, it must be in a figurative sense. 
Hence, " in thee, " " in him," and " in Christ " are figurative 
expressions, or terms of constitution. They are things of stubborn 
import. They do not express a feeling ; but a relatiojuhrp, which is 

l Rev. xxi. 12 ; xvi. 15. ' B*t. li 18 ; xiv. 19, 20. 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 216 

predicated on belief and obedience. These are literal and actual 
things ; for there is no scriptural faith without belief of the letter, or 
written, or spoken, word ; nor any obedience without conformity to 
prescribed action. To pass, or to be introduced, into a man, is to 
sustain a relationship towards him of faith, affection, and allegiance, 
as prescribed. No person, or nation, can introduce themselves into a 
man ; their induction, in other words, must be according to prescription, 
and not according to their own appointment. God, or he to whom 
as his substitute he has committed all authority, is the only person 
that can prescribe the formula of induction. Mankind are diseased, 
and cannot cure themselves. " The blessing of Abraham " is for 
their restoration to health and happiness. They are therefore, the 
recipients of favor, and not the prescribers, or legislators, in the case. 
The nature of the inducting formula is determined by the kind of 
subject to be induced. If the subject to be passed into Abraham and 
Christ be an individual, the formula is spiritual ; that is, it places him 
in a moral and domestic, or family, relationship to them : but, if the 
subject be a nation, or a multitude of nations, then the formula is 
civil and ecclesiastical, or political. A person in Abraham and 
Christ (and a man cannot be in one without being in the other) is 
the subject of adoption by a spiritual formula, which will be perfected 
in " the redemption of his body " at the resurrection ; while nations 
in Abraham and Christ are adopted by a political formula, which is 
perfected in the blessings of good government, peace, equitable laws 
righteously administered, the enlightenment of all classes in the 
knowledge of God, universal prosperity, and so forth. The formula 
of spiritual adoption is exhibited in the gospel. It requires a man to 
believe " the promises made of God to the fathers " concerning the 
land of Canaan, the Christ, the blessedness of the nations in Abraham 
and his seed, eternal life by a resurrection, &c. ; and to be baptized 
into the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When an individual has 
done this, he is in Abraham, and Christ, and an heir with him of 
the promises he believes. So that " the seed," though spoken of one 
person, that is, of Christ, comprehends all the believers of the promises, 
who by adoption are " in hinu" The phrase " the seed " is therefore 
used in an individual and federal acceptation. Hence, whatever is 
promised to Abraham and Christ is also promised to their federal 
constituents — to the sons of Abraham, and brethren of Christ, by 
adoption into the family of God. 

But, the formula of national, or political, adoption, has not yet 
been promulgated to the world. No people has ever been politically 
in God but Israel. The natural descendants of Abraham in the line 
of Isaac and Jacob, became the people of God in a national sense by 
the adoption provided in the Mosaic law. But no other nation before 
or since has ever stood in the same relationship to him. Neither 
Egypt of old, nor Britain and America of modern times, can say, 
" we are the people of the Lord." God has never called these 
nations " my people" for they have never been the subjects of political 
adoption as Israel were. State religions are established upon the 
hypothesis, that the people are God's people j and therefore as ao 



216 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

ceptable "worshippers as the Jews under the law ; and that they are 
constitutionally " in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ !" 
Hence, they call the nations of Europe " christian nations." But a 
greater fallacy was never entertained. There are no christian nations ; 
neither indeed can there be until the formula of political adoption 
shall be made known. The nations are now in Satan their father, 
and in his vicegerent the Lord Pope. Hence, it may be said to them 
as Jesus said to the rulers and clergy of Israel, " Ye are of your 
father the Devil, and the works of your father ye do." The Devil 
is their father by birth and constitution. The nations of Europe 
became the people of Satan by constitution, when they put on the 
pope as their high priest and mediator according to the Justinian coda, 
Having received this, they became Satan's seed, and the pope's 
brethren ; and being thus, in Satan and in the pope, are joint-heirs 
with them of a "just punishment, even an everlasting destruction" 
to issue forth " from the presence of the Lord and the glory of his 
power;" 1 and which hangs over them, like the hair-suspended sword 
of Dionysius, ready to fall with death-dealing vengeance on every side. 

But a time is coming when the antichristian, mohammedan, and 
pagan, nations of the world, will all become the people of God, and, 
therefore, christian. This is evident from the testimony of scripture, 
which saith, " In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to 
Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian 
into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians. 
.In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and Assyria, even a 
Messing in the midst of the Land : whom the Lord of Hosts shall 
bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work 
of my hands, and Israel wine inheritance."- And again it is written 
of Christ, " He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass ; as 
showers that water the earth. In his days shall the righteous florish ; 
and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth. He shall 
have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends 
of the earth. They (the Arabs) that dwell in the wilderness shall 
bow before him ; and his enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of 
Tarshish, and of the isles, shall bring presents ; the kings of Sheba 
and Seba shall offer gifts. Yea, all kings shall fall down before him : 
all nations shall serve him. His name shall endure for ever; 
his name shall be continued as long as the sun ; and men shall be 
blessed in him : all nations shall call him blessed." 3 According to 
this testimony it is proved, that the nations, or families, of the earth 
will become the people of God as well as Israel, who will have the 
pre-eminence among them as the inheritance of the Lord ; and so 
Israel and the nations will constitute a kingdom and empire, which 
will then compose u the World" and be blessed in him and Abraham; 
whose subjects will reciprocate the benefits bestowed upon them, 
and serve their godlike rulers with heart-felt loyalty, and blessings 
upon his name for ever. 

But when we contemplate the nations now in Satan, and Israel 
scattered to the four winds, and compare their present condition with 

I 2 TheBS. i. 8. 'Isaiah xlx. S3. 3 Psalm Ixxii. 6— 11, 17. 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 217 

what it is to be when they all serve Christ and are blessed in him 
and Abraham, we perceive the womb of futurity to be pregnant of a 
mighty change ; and one, too, which cannot be effected by mild and 
persuasive measures. The time for persuasives has passed away. 
The nations turn a deaf ear to every thing which is not in harmony 
with their lusts. Hence, coercion can alone bring them to wait for 
the divine law. For this reason, it is testified of Christ- — " He shall 
break in pieces the oppressor ; " and " will execute vengeance in 
anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard. And 
the nations shall see and be confounded at all their (Israel's) might : 
they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf. 
They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their 
holes like worms of the earth : they shall be afraid of the Lord, 
Israel's God, and shall fear because of thee !" This testimony shows 
that the nations will be reduced to abject submission, even the most 
powerful among them. Their courage and means of resistance will 
nave departed; for bv the sword of the Lord and of Israel they will 
have been subdued At this crisis, however, they will find a deliverer 
in him who hath overcome them. 2 "Look unto me," saith he, "and 
be ye saved all the ends of the earth ; for I am God, and there is 
none else. I have sworn by myself," to Abraham, " the word has 
gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that 
unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear, saying, 
surely in the Lord have I righteousness and strength : even to him 
shall men come." 3 If we turn to this oath of subjection and future 
blessing, we shall see what is meant by every knee bowing to the 
Lord. " By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou, 
Abraham, hast done this thing, and hast not witheld thy son, thine 
only son, that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will 
multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is 
upon the sea-shore ; and thy seed (Christ) shall possess the gate of his 
enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; 
because thou hast obeyed my voice." 4 

The nations being prepared by coercion, the formula of political 
adoption is promulgated to them. This is contained in the law irliich 
(joes forth from Zion. The details of this law are not all specified. 
In the general, it establishes the power of the Lord, then become 
" a great mountain filling the whole earth," 3 above all other powers ; 
and constitutes the newly erected Temple in Jerusalem " the house 
of prayer for all nations." 6 This law gives the kingdom to the 
daughter of Jerusalem, which is Zion ; where the Lord reigns over 
them henceforth for everJ The nations accept the law, which saves 
them from extermination. This is evinced by the effects which follow 
its promulgation. They all flow to Jerusalem as the centre of the 
world, and fountain of all blessings ; for " my springs," saith the 
Lord, " are in thee." They go thither for instruction in the ways of 
the Lord, and return to walk in his paths, to live at peace among 
themselves, to abandon the study of war, and to devote themselves to 

Anc. ♦. 15; vii. 10, 17. a Re* xvii. 14; six. 11—21. ? Isaiah xlv. 22, 23. « Gen. xxii. 16—18. 
4 Dan. ii 35. J Isaiah hi. 7. 7 Mic- '.v. 7, 8 ; Isaiah xxiv. £3. 



218 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OV GOD. 

agriculture, commerce, and the arts. 1 This is the millennial future 
state. Abraham and Jesus are, then, the greatest personages upon 
the earth ; the former being the spiritual father of Jesus and the 
saints ; and the political father of a multitude of nations, over whom 
Christ and his brethren rule until M the end." 2 

Such is " f he world" of which Abraham and his Seed are the 
heirs. Speaking of the latter in this relation, the apostle says, 
ik whom God hath appointed heir of all things, and on account of 
whom he constitutes the Ages " 3 — oV 6u ko. ira? cuwvas tirou)<rt. — the Aire 



of Jubilees, and the Jubilee Age. And to the joint-heirs of Abraham 
and Christ, he says, " Let no man glory in men : for all things are 
yours; the world, life, death, things present and things to come ; all 
are yours; and ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's." 4 And again, 
*' Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world?" 5 The 
verb here rendered judge is the same as is translated "go to law" in 
the preceding verse. The apostle, therefore, asks, if they do not 
know that they will sit judicially, and dispense justice to the world, 
according to the divine law ; and because this is their destiny, he 
positively forbids believers in the covenants of promise to submit 
themselves to the judgment of the unjust. It is better, says he, 
for one to be defrauded than to submit to such a humiliation. Let 
the heirs of the world arbitrate their own affairs in the present state ; 
for it is a strange thing, if men, whose destiny is to judge the world 
and angels, cannot settle things pertaining to this life. Thus, then, 
there are three parties, yet constitutionally one family, who are hens 
of the world as it will be politically organized in the Future Age; 
namely, Abraham, Christ, and the believers in the promises made to 
them, called saints ; who are in Abraham as their father, and in his 
Seed as their elder brother. These are the inheritors of the kingdom 
and empire attached to the land of Canaan ; " the children of the 
promise who are counted for the Seed ;" and " not of the world, " or 
subjects. These are men in the flesh, Jews and Gentiles, whose lives 
and fortunes will be at the disposal of the Royal Family of God. 
The members of this social circle are not known now by the world, 
which has set its affections upon those who mislead it; teaching it to 
look for a visionary elysium beyond the skies! But such leaders as 
these have no light in them, for they do not speak according to the 
law and the testimony. The word of God converts their wisdom 
into folly, declaring in the teeth of their traditions that " he that 
putteth his trust in God shall possess the land, and shall inherit his 
holy mountain ;" 6 while Israel in the flesh "shall be all righteous; 
they shall inherit the land for ever, as the branch of the Lord's plant- 
ing, the work of his hands, that he may be glorified. A little one 
shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation. I, saith 
the Lord, will hasten it in its time."? 

THE TOKEN OF THE COVENANT. 
It was fourteen years after the confirmation of the covenant, and 
when Ab'iim had attained the age of ninety and nine, that the Lord 

> Isaiah ii. 2—4; Ix. 5, 10. * 1 Cor. xv. 24. 3 Heb. i. 2. < 1 Cor. iii. 21—23. * 1 Cor. ?i. 2. 

« Isaiah lvii. 13. * Isaiah lx. U, 13/2 1, 22. 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 219 

appeared to him to repeat his promises, and to appoint the token of 
the covenant. On this occasion. God talked with him, and changed 
his name from Abram to Abraham, as an everlasting memorial that 
he had made him heir of the world, by constituting him a father of a 
great multitude. " Behold," said God, f my covenant is with thee, 
and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name 
any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham ; for a 
father of many nations have I constituted thee/' And besides this 
constitutional fatherhood, the Lord assured him that though so old, he 
should be prolific of multitudes which should descend from his own 
loins. " I will make thee," said he, " exceeding fruitful, and I will 
make nations of thee ; and kings shall come out of thee." The Lord 
then announced, that the covenant he had confirmed should be 
established between him and Abraham, and his fleshly descendants in 
their generations for an everlasting covenant ; and that he would be a 
God to him and to them. He also again d< clared his oft- repeated 
promise, saying, " I will give unto thee, and to thy Seed after thee, 
the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an 
everlasting possession: and I will be their God." 1 

In the passage from which this is taken, God says, "I will make 
my covenant between me and thee;" and afterwards, M behold my 
covenant is with thee." The " will make " refers to a covenant sub- 
sequent to that confirmed fourteen years before. That, to be made 
was the token of that which was already made ; and " the seal of the 
righteousness of the faith which Abram had when it was counted to 
him for righteousness." 2 " This," said God, " is my covenant, which 
ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee: every 
man-child among you shall be circumcised ; and it shall be a token 
of the covenant betwixt me and you Abraham." The appointing of 
this token in their flesh was ihe establishment of the covenant with 
Abraham's seed in the time of Isaac and Jacob in their generations. 
When, therefore, Israelites behold the mark in their flesh it reminds 
them, that they are " the children of the covenant which God made 
with their fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy Seed shall all 
the kindreds of the earth be blessed ;" 3 that the land of Canaan, all 
of it, is promised to them for an everlasting possession; but that an 
everlasting possession in it can only be attained by belief of the 
things promised in the covenant being counted to them for righteous- 
ness in the way of God's appointment. They know, or rather ought 
to know, that the sign of ci-eumcision and the Mosaic law, can give 
them no title to the everlasting occupancy of Canaan, either as indi- 
viduals, or as a nation. It is circumcision of the heart, of which 
circumcision of the flesh is but the sign of the circumcised heart of 
Abraham, that confers a title to the land and all its attributes. 
Before Israel can inherit the land for ever, and so be no more 
expelled by u the Horns of the Gentiles," they must " circumcise the 
foreskin of their hearts, and be no more stiff necked ;" and " love 
the Lord (Jesus) their God with all their heart, and with all their 
sc:^ t.iat they may live." 4 This may seem to some to put their 

1 Gcc. XTii. 1—8. J Rom. iv. 11. 3 Act* iii. 25. « Deut. x. 6 ; xxz. Q 



220 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

restoration a long way off. And so it does, if the circumcision of 
their hearts is to be effected by tbe instrumentality of the Society for 
the Conversion of the Jews. By the well-meant endeavors of this 
body, it never can be accomplished ; for the Society and its agents 
are tin mselves deficient in this particular. But " God is able to 
graft them in again ; Vl and testifies by his prophets, saying, "A new 
heart also will /give yon, and a new spirit will I put within you, O 
Israel : and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and / 
will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, 
and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judg- 
ments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that T gave to 
your fathers ; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. I 
will also save you from all your uncleanness ; and I will call for the 
corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you. And I will 
multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of tbe field, that ye 
shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen. " 2 In 
this testimony, while Moses exhorted them to circumcise theforeshin 
of their hearts, the Lord says that he will change their hearts him- 
self; not, however, by "the foolishness of preaching," for that has 
failed even by the mouth of apostles energized by the spirit: but by 
means in reserve which will astonish Israel and the world, and of 
which he has spoken at large in the holy scriptures. I will anticipate 
this part of the subject so far as to say, that the Lord has left on 
record an illustration of the manner in which he changes the heart of 
a nation, and plants them in a land flowing with milk and honey, in 
the history of Israel's exode from Egypt, and their settlement in the 
land of Canaan. This is a representation on a small scale of how he 
intends to graft them in again, as he has declared by the prophets. 

In after times circumcision came to be performed as a mere custom, 
or ceremony. An institution of God, that was appointed as a memo- 
rial of his promise concerning the everlasting possession of Canaan 
and the world ; and of that righteousness by faith of the promise 
which could alone intitle to it : and which was to express the faith 
of those who practised it — degenerated into a mere form which was 
observed, like infant-sprinkling, by " the pious " and most ungodly 
characters alike. But, it is evident, that circumcision, being insti- 
tuted after the covenant of promise was confirmed, and after Abra- 
ham had obtained a title to it by a righteousness of faith, could 
confer upon the person circumcised no right to possess the things 
promised for ever : and certainly none to reprobates who practised it, 
as Turks and wild Arabs do now, because their fathers have done it 
before them, time immemorial to them. What obligation, then, did 
this sign of the covenant, and seal of Abraham's justification by faith 
without circumcision, impose upon the circumcised ? Let the apostle 
answer I he question. " 1 testify," says he, " to every man that is 
circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole /aw." 3 This was a 
fearful obligation for a man to be brought under, who sought to be. 
justified, to the end that he might obtain an everlasting inheritance in 
the Knd of Canaan, which implies the acquisition of eternal life and 

1 Rom. xi. 23. - Ezck. xxxvi. 26—30 : xxxix 25—29. s Gal. v. 3. 



THE THINGS OP THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 221 

glory. The law was weak through the flesh ; and gave only the 
knowledge of sin. It was an unbearable yoke of bondage ; and a 
law which no man born of the will of the flesh had been able to 
keep without sin. If, then, a man sought to obtain a right to an 
everlasting possession of the land by obedience to it, he had under- 
taken an impossibility ; for the law, on account of human weakness, 
could give no one a right to live for ever; and without life eternal a 
man could not everlastingly possess the land ; and this life no one 
can attam to who is not justified from all his past sins ; for if in his 
sins he is under the sentence of death, as it is written, " the wages of 
sin is death." The apostle speaks directly to the point ; for he says, 
" If there had been a law given, which could have given (a title to) 
life (eternal), verily righteousness (or justification from past sins to 
life) should have been by the law r" 1 " for if righteousness had come 
by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." 2 He says explicitly, " by 
the law shall no flesh be justified." A circumcised person is there- 
fore bound to keep that which he cannot possibly keep ; and which if 
he did keep could not benefit him, because justification to life is by 
faith in the promise, and not by conformity to the Mosaic law. 

The relation of the Jews to eternal life as individuals, and to the 
everlasting possession of Canaan in blessedness and peace as a nation, 
is manifest. They are circumcised, and therefore bound to keep the 
whole law ; by which law they seek to be justified. But, how vain 
and impossible is their enterprize ! The law says, "Cursed is every 
one that continueth not in all things written in the book of the law to 
do them ;" 3 and so unexceptional is this sentence, that it even cursed 
the Lord Jesus, saying, " Cursed is every one that hangeth upon 
a tree ;" 4 and in this way he was made a curse for men. 5 Now, the 
law teaches, that without the shedding of blood there is no remission 
of sins, and prescribes certain sacrifices which must be offered upon 
an altar in Jerusalem, and there only. To say nothing of other im- 
possible things, these offerings, which are indispensable, the Jews 
neither do, nor can, present. These are things, then, they do not 
continue in, and therefore they are cursed by the law, and condemned 
by Moses in whom they trust. They are under sentence of death, 
and of eternal exclusion from all inheritance in Canaan and the 
world. They may possibly believe in the promise made to Abraham, 
that God will give the land to him and the Christ; but they deny 
that Jesus is the person named in the Will, which is tantamount to 
rejecting the covenant itself. 

While circumcision obliged Israel to keep the whole law, in which 
there was an annual remembrance of national offences, it gave them 
through that law only a tenant at will occupancy of the land of 
Canaan ; and that not to the extent which pertains to its evei-lastinc 
possession. This appears from the words of Moses, as it is written, 
u If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law, ye shall be 
plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it." 6 The 
condition of their tenancy was their good behaviour. If they served 
God according to the law of the land he had given, he would bless 

Gal. iii 21. 2 Gal. ii. 21. J Deut. xxvii. 26. * Deut. xxi. 23. 5 Gal. ili. 13. « Deut. xxviii. 58,63. 



222 



THE THINGS OP THE KINGDOM Oi. GOD. 



them in their basket and store ; but if they served other god?, 
"would let in the worshippers of those gods upon them, and expel them 
from the country. Israel has rebelled ; and therefore they are in 
dispersion, until the time appointed shall come to remember the 
covenant made with the fathers; and therefore to remember the 
land, i 

The national tenancy of Canaan under the law being leasehold, no 
purchases of freehold estates could be made in the land. If Israel 
had been a freeholder, the case would have been different. But the 
land belonged to the Lord ; and they had no more right to grant it 
away in parcels for ever, than the tenant under a twenty-one years' 
lease has to cut up his holding into lots, and sell them to purchasers 
for ever. Israel were the Lord's tenants ; and the law said to them 
on the part of their landlord, ** the land shall not be sold for ever; 
for the land is mine, and ye are strangers and sojourners with me ;" 
so that " in all the land of your possession ye shall grant a redemption 
for the land/' Hence, if poverty compelled a man to sell his farm, 
it was always redeemable by himself, or kin, according to certain 
Conditions ; but, if neither could raise the money to redeem, the estate 
was not lost to the original owner ; for though it remained in the 
Hands of the purchaser he was obliged to return it for nothing at the 
year of jubilee. 2 Even under the new constitution, when the nation 
obtains everlasting possession, the servants of the Prince will have to 
surrender his territorial gifts at the year of liberty ; while his sons 
will possess them for ever. 3 

The covenant of promise confers a more extensive holding of the 
country than the law of Moses. At no time of their occupation did 
Israel possess all the land from the Euphrates to the Nile, as promised 
in the covenant ; and even if they had, such holding would not have 
been in the sense of the covenant, for they have not held possession 
according to the limits defined "for ever." " All the land of Canaan 
for an everlasting possession " is the promise ; but the indisputable 
fact is, that Israel have only possessed apart of it for a limited and 
turbulent period. In Solomon's days, when the nation was at its 
zenith under the law, the land was jointly possessed by Israel, the 
Tyrians, and the remains of the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, 
Jebusites, &c. ; but when the age of the covenant arrives, Israel 
under Shiloh will possess it all ; 4< and there shall be no more the 
Canaanite in the house of the Lord of Hosts." 4 

No uncircumcised person was permitted to be a member of 
Abraham's family. Home-born, or purchased, slaves, as well as sons, 
were to be alike circumcised, or else to be cut off'; for he that was 
uncircumcised on the eighth day after the first circumcisions when 
instituted, or not at all, had broken the Lord's covenant. This was a 
great calamity ; for none but circumcised persons can inherit the 
promises. This may startle ; but it is strictly true. It will, however, 
be remembered that true circumcision is of the heart. Circumcision 
of the flesh is but an outward sign of Abraham's circumcision of 
heart; and every one who would inherit with faithful Abraham must 

Lev. xx\i. 40—42. 5 Lev. xxv. 25—28. ' Ezek. xlvi. 16—18. * 2 Chron. viii. 7 ; Zech. xiv. 2J 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 223 

be circumcised of heart likewise. When he was circumcised of heart 
his faith in God was imputed to him for remission of sins that were 
past. His former idolatry, &c, was forgiven ; and the body of the 
sins of his flesh put off. Now, a man believing what Abraham 
believed with the same effect on his disposition and life, is also cir- 
cumcised of heart, when, in putting on Christ, he is *' circumcised 
with the circumcision made without hands by the circumcision of 
Christ," performed on the eighth day according to the law. In putting 
on Christ, his faith is counted to him for righteousness as Abraham's 
was. <• The body of the sins of his flesh" is cut off. The foreskin 
of his heart is circumcised, and he is the subject of " circumcision in 
the spirit;" and his praise, though not of men, is pronounced of 
God. 1 

Now, I respectfully inquire, will a man who understands the sig- 
nification of circumcision of the flesh, and the nature of circumcision 
of the heart, jeopardize his reputation for soundness of mind, by 
saying, that infant-sprinkling, even if a scriptural practice, was 
divinely appointed in the room of circumcision in flesh or spirit ? 
That the immersion of a man of the same faith and disposition as 
Abraham's is connected with circumcision, I have shown ; to such a 
man, immersion into the glorious name is the token of his justification 
by faith, as circumcision of the flesh was to Abraham. It is, indeed, 
a substitute for circumcision of the flesh; but the accompaniment 
also of circumcision of the heart : and as all of Abraham's faith 
were to be cut off from his people who were not circumcised in flesh, 
so all of his faith now will be cut off who are not immersed; for 
immersion is the appointed, and only appointed, means of putting on 
the circumcision of Jesus Christ by which the body of the sins of the 
flesh are put off. ~ But this is a very different affair to infant-rhantisir 
coming in the room of circumcision of the flesh. Suppose it did, 
then the law of circumcision must have become the law of the 
substitute ; that is, of infant-sprinkling. The rhantized subject, then, 
is bound to keep the whole law, and in default thereof comes under 
its curse. The immersion of an unbeliever amounts to nothing. To 
such a person it is no token. What shall we say, then, of the 
rhantism of an infant ? Is the sprinkling, and marking it with the 
sign of a cross, a token to it, or to others, that it is "justified by faith, 
and has peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ ? " Or, is it 
a sign of the faith of its godfathers and godmothers, or of its parents, 
of their being justified by faith, and circumcised of heart \ Or is it 
a token, that the clerical administrator has faith in the covenant of 
promise? Nay, rather, it is a token of the astounding ignorance of 
the letter and spirit of the gospel, and of the Judaism of all concerned; 
and a striking illustration of that "strong delusion" spread over the 
face of all people as a covering veil. 3 

THE ALLEGORY. 

Abraham had two sons ; Ishmael the son of Hagar, an Egyptian 
handmaid ; and Isaac, the son of Sarah. Ishmael was fourteen years 

Rom. ii. 28. ' Col. it. 11, 12. » 2 Then. ii. 11 ; Isaiah xxr. 7 



224 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

old when Isaac was born. He was born in the ordinary course of 
things, and therefore said to be " born after the flesh ;" while Isaac 
was born out of the usual course, Sarah being ninety and Abraham a 
hundred, she being also strengthened of God, according to the 
promise, and consequently said to be " born after the Spirit." Hagar 
was a bondwoman ; but Sarah was free : yet, had it been left to 
Abraham, he would have made Ishmael his heir as well as Isaac, for 
he loved them both. But Ishmael manifested an evil spirit towards 
Sarah and Isaac, which he had imbibed from his mother. Moses 
says, he mocked Isaac, or spoke contemptuously of him ; which the 
apostle terms persecuting him, and characteristic of those of Ishmael's 
class. Sarah's indignation was fired at this ; " wherefore, she said 
unto Abraham, cast out this bondwoman and her son : for the son of 
this bondwoman shall not be heir with my sour, even with Isaac." 
Although Abraham was exceedingly grieved at this, God approved 
of Sarah's decision ; and informed him that Christ should descend 
from Isaac, and not from Ishmael, saying, " In Isaac shall thy Seed 
be called :" nevertheless, because Ishmael was his son, he would 
make a nation of him also with twelve princes for its fathers. 

This fragment of Abraham's history has a signification beyond 
what appears on the face of it. The apostle informs us that the inci- 
dents are allegorical. That is, that the tico icomen and their charac- 
teristics, represent two covenants; and the two so?is of Abraham by 
them, two seeds, or classes of persons. The covenants are, " the one 
from Mount Sinai in Arabia," and the other, the covenant confirmed 
of God 430 years before that of Sinai was promulgated ; and which, 
being a matter of promise, the subject of which is Christ as the 
inheritor of Canaan, and its future king in Jerusalem, now at the 
right hand of God, is said to be u Jerusalem which is above." The 
apostle says, that Jerusalem is the subject of both these covenants ; 
but in different periods of her history. During her existence as the 
metropolis of the Hebrew commonwealth under its Sinaitic constitu- 
tion, she was represented by Hagar the bondwoman ; because the 
covenant from Sinai " gendered to bondage ;" and in consequence the 
citizens of the commonwealth were in bondage with the mother city. 
They were " entangled with the yoke of bondage," " under the rudi- 
ments of the world." They were bound to keep the whole law, by 
which they sought to be justified ; and as they could not do it owing 
to the weakness of the flesh, they came under the curse. 

But this state of things was only provisional. God did not intend 
the Hebrew commonwealth to exist perpetually under the Sinaitic 
constitution. Israel was not always to be in bondage to the law of 
Moses. A great revolution was predetermined of God, which should 
result in the abolition of the Arabian covenant, and the dispersion of 
Israel among the nations. This is allegorically styled, " casting out 
the bondwoman and her son ;"' which was necessary for the good and 
all-sufficient reason, that the Sinaitic constitution of the common- 
wealth of Israel, was not adapted for the people and State wlieu 
Christ should sit upon the throne of his father David, and the saints 
should possess the kingdom. The law of Moses enjoined ordinances 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 225 

concerning the flesh, such as "the water of separation," 1 which 
would be quite incompatible with the realities of the Age to Come. 
Under the law there was '* a remembrance again of sins every year ;" 2 
but under the New Constitution from heaven, " the sins and iniquities 
of the people will be remembered no more." 3 The Sinaitic constitu- 
tion was faulty ; it was therefore necessary that it should give place to 
a better, which shall be established on better promises. 4 Hence, the 
bondwoman was to be cast out, to make room for a more perfect 
arrangement of the commonwealth. 

Since the expulsion of Israel by the Romans, Jerusalem and her 
children are in the situation of Hagar and her son, while wandering 
in the wilderness of Beersheba. She is divorced from the Lord as 
Hagar was from Abraham, and '* being desolate she sits upon the 
ground," 5 and bewails her widowhood. 6 But, there is to be " a 
restitution of all things" Jerusalem is to become a free woman as 
Sarah was; and to take her stand in the midst of the earth, as 
" the city whose architect and builder is God" She will then 
* remember the reproach of her widowhood no more. For her 
Maker will be her husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and her 
Redeemer the Holy One of Israel (even Jesus) the God of the 
whole earth shall he be called" She will then be the metropolis of 
the world ; and her citizens, or children, will be more numerous than 
those she rejoiced in under the law, as a married wife. The period of 
her glory will have arrived ; the twelve tribes be again the united, 
peaceful, and joyous, inhabitants of the land ; the " greater than 
Solomon," their king ; and his city, *' the heavenly Jerusalem," 
which ** is free, and the mother of us all." 

But, while Hagar represents Jerusalem under the law ; and Sarah, 
Jerusalem under the new constitution of the Hebrew commonwealth ; 
Ishmael represents Israel, glorying in their fleshly descent from 
Abraham, and boasting in the law ; and Isaac, those of Israel and the 
Gentiles, who regard the flesh as profiting nothing, and who are the 
sons of Abraham by believing the promises made to him and to his 
seed. Hence, Ishmael and Isaac represent two seeds, or classes of 
mankind, who shall not be heirs together of the promise. Indeed, 
their natures are so opposite, that it would be impossible for them to 
fulfil in concert the destiny marked out for those who are to inherit 
the promises. The Ishmaelite-seed are wild men; whose hands are 
against all who believe the truth. They are mockers ; for as Ishmael 
mocked Isaac, so Israel mocked Jesus, and spoke reproachfully of 
him and his brethren, who are one. The kingdom to be established 
is a righteous dominion, and requires righteous men for its admin- 
istration ; as it is written, " He that ruleth over men must be just f 
riding in the fear of the Lord." 7 It is impossible, therefore, that 
the Ishmaelite-seed can be heirs of the promise. All the honor, 
glory, and power, of the state were in their hands under the Arabian 
covenant ; and cruel and unjust was the use they made of their 
position. They put Jesus to death ; and persecuted those to whom 

Numb, xix ; Heb. ix. 13. * Heb. x. 3. 3 Jer. xxxi. 31—34. < Heb. viii. 6, 7. « Gen. xxl. 1 
Isaiah iii. 26. « Isaiah liv. 4. 7 2 Sam. xxiii. 3. 

P 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

" he gave power to become the sons of God,"" believing; on bis name ; 
and were u contrary to all men ; forbidding the apostles to speak to 
the Gentiles, that they might be saved." x They were then " first; " 
but power was destined to change hands, when they who were " the 
first shall be last." They had killed the heir that the inheritance 
might be theirs ; but they have been destroyed, and the vineyard now 
remains to be bestowed upon others, who shall render its lord the 
fruits in their seasons. 2 Thus, as in the case of Ishmael and Isaac, 
" he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after 
the spirit, even so,' 1 says the apostle, " it is now ;" and we may add, 
ever will be, until the times of the restitution of the State when " the 
last shall be first," and beyond .b^ reach of evil. 

No one had the right, or the power, to appoint " the heir of all 
things" but God. Abraham could not appoint him, neither could he 
be self-appointed. Abraham wished that Ishmael might be the heir ; 
or as he expressed it, " O that Ishmael might live before thee."" But 
God would not consent to this. He therefore promised to give him 
one for the heir, whom he should call Isaac ; and of whom he said, 
¥ I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, 
and with his seed after him." 3 But Isaac was not only born of 
promise ; he believed the promises likewise ; for the scripture saith, 
" by faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come."" 
'Now, it is written, " in Isaac shall thy seed be called ; " that is, 
Christ shall descend from him, and all who believe the promises, and 
put on Christ, shall be considered as "in Isaac;" and, being thus 
«'the children of the promise," shall be "counted for the seed"* 
who shall inherit the land and the world for ever. " The seed" then, 
is a phrase that must be understood in a twofold sense ; first, as 
referring to Christ; and secondly, to all who are constitutionally in him, 
Isaac is representative of both ; for Christ was in his loins, and all 
"in him" must be constitutionally in Isaac also. 

For want of understanding the scripture doctrine of the two seeds 
some very fatal mistakes have been made by many well-meaning 
persons. They have gone so far as to deny that the seed of Abraham 
after the flesh will ever be restored to the land of Canaan ; which is 
in effect to deny the fulfilment of a vast proportion of " the testimony 
of God." The seed of the serpent, and the seed of the woman, 
indicated before the flood, were afterwards distinguished in t lie seed 
of Ishmael, and the seed of Isaac. " The children of the flesh are 
not the children of God ; neither are they all Israel, who are of 
Israel." 5 This is true; but it does not therefore follow, that there is 
nothing more to be done with '« the children of the flesh " than to 
burn them up. To carry out the allegory, God has yet to make of 
the Ishmael-seed a great nation ; for though Ishmael was an outcast 
and a wanderer in the wilderness, God promised that he should be 
great, and dwell in the presence of his brethren. 6 The children of 
Abraham according to the flesh are " the children of the kingdom "7 
as well as the children of the promise ; only these two classes of 

' 1 Thess. ii. 14 16. 3 Matt. xxi. 38, 41. ' Gen. jtvii. 19. * Rom. ix. C-8 ; Gal. iv. 28. * Rom. ix. 8. 
e Gen. xvii. 20 : xvi. 12. i Matt. viii. 12 ; xiii. 28. 



THE TJUNQS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 227 

children stand in a different relation to the government and glory of 
the commonwealth, and to the dominion of the nations in the age to 
come. The Ishmael-ehildren were cast out of the government by the 
Romans; but the children in Isaac will "shine forth as the sun in 
the kingdom of their Father," when the kingdom is restored again 
to Israel. 1 

" In the regeneration when the Son of Man shall sit on the turcne 
of his glory," the children in Isaac will reign as " sons ; " while the 
children of the flesh will be the king's subjects, or "servants." This 
distinction i«e apparent from the following testimony : " Instead of thy 
fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes 
throughout all the earth ; " 2 of whom it is said, " If the Prince give 
%, gift unto any of his sons, the inheritance thereof shall be his sons' ; 
it shall be their possession by inheritance. But if he give a gift of 
his inheritance to one of his servants, then it shall be his to the year 
of liberty ; and after it shall return to the prince: but his inheritance 
shall be his sons'^br them.'''' 3 The sons of the prince are joint-heirs 
with him ; but the servants of the prince are only leaseholders for a 
certain number of years. If the natural Israel are not restored to 
Canaan, the spiritual Israel, that is to say, the prince and his sons, 
would inherit a kingdom without subjects to serve them. This would 
be like Victoria and her family reigning in Windsor Castle over, the 
realm of Britain after all its inhabitants had expatriated themselves to 
the United States. It requires more than a staff to make a regiment; 
so also it requires a multitude of people as well as princes, priests, 
and kings, to constitute a kingdom in Canaan, or in any other country. 
Now, the children in Isaac become the children of the heavenly 
Jerusalem by believing u the exceeding great and precious promises" 
set forth in "the manifold wisdom of God." They hope to see 
Canaan and Jerusalem under the new covenant, which will constitute 
them both heavenly. They are even now said to have " come to 
Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, and to the heavenly 
Jerusalem ; " 4 but it is as yet only in spirit, that is, by faith and hope: 
and as the city and land will be made heavenly by the Lord from 
heaven, their glorious attributes are in truth "above;" to believe, 
then, in what will be brought down to the city from above, is for the 
children of the promise in Isaac to stand related to " Jerusalem which 
is above, the mother of them all." 5 Hence, the apostle exhorts them, 
saying, " If then ye be risen with Christ, seek those things which are 
above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God. Set your 
affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are 
dead (to earthly things) and your life is hid with Christ in God. 
When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear 
with him in glory." 6 

PARABLE OF THE SEED. 

Abraham was ninety years old and nine, and Ishmael thirteen* 
when they were circumcised.? Isaac was born when he was one 

Acts i. 6, ' Psalm, xlv. 16, » F,zek. xlvi. IS, 17. i 1I*\ xii. 22. * Gal. iv. 26. « Col. iii. 1—4. 
? Gen. xvii. 24, 2V 

p 2 



228 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOO. 

hundred. Between the circumcision of his household and the birth 
of Isaac, while he was yet living " in the plain of Mam re which is 
Hebron," the Lord appeared to him, and again promised Sarah a 
son. At this crisis Sodom and Gomorrha were destroyed, and the 
Dead Sea formed. After this catastrophy, Abraham journeyed from 
Hebron towards the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and 
Shur, and sojourned in Gerar of the Philistine^. 1 On his arrival 
there, he entered into an agreement with the king of the country, 
which they confirmed by an oath, by which he was permitted to dwell 
in any part of Philistia he pleased, and a certain well of water was 
restored to him, called Beer-sheba, which had been violently taken 
away by the king's servants. 2 

After this arrangement Isaac was born according to promise. On 
the day he was weaned, Abraham made a great feast. It was then 
Ishmael was detected mocking at Isaac, which caused his and Hagar's 
expulsion from the family. These being cast out, Abraham planted 
a grove in Beer-sheba, and there " called on the name of the Lord, 
the everlasting God." Having thus settled himself, " he sojourned in 
the Philistines' land many days." 3 How long he continued there 
may be learned from the following considerations. In his speech 
before the Sanhedrim, Stephen says, " When Abraham's father was 
dead, he removed him into this land wherein ye dwell ; " 4 that is, he 
returned from Philistia to «' Hebron in the land of Canaan." 5 Now 
Terah, Abraham's father, was seventy years old when Abraham wa* 
born ; so that when Isaac was born at Beer-sheba, Terah was a 
hundred and seventy. But Terah lived two hundred and five years, 
and then died at Haran ; and it was after his death that Abraham 
removed to Hebron where Sarah died a^ed one hundred and twenty- 
seven. Now she died two years after Terah ; so that it was in this 
two years that Abraham left Philistia. But Stephen says, it was 
when Terah died he moved to Canaan, which makes the " many days " 
he sojourned in the Philistines' land, thirty-five years from the birth 
of Isaac. This simple statement of facts removes a difficulty which 
has puzzled chronologers exceedingly. Moses says Terah died in 
Haran aged two hundred and five ; 6 and Stephen is made to say that 
Abraham removed from Haran to Canaan when Terah died, thereby 
making Sarah a resident of the country only two years ! This is the 
fault of the English version, which renders KaKtitizv, "from thence " 
instead of afterwards, as it ought to be. " Abraham," said Stephen, 
" dwelt in Haran ; and afterwards" — How long after ? — " When his 
father was dead, he removed him" — Where from ? From Beer-sheba 
of the Philistines. Where to ? To Hebron " in this land wherein 
ye dwell." Thus Moses and Stephen agree. 

Now, at some time while Abraham was sojourning in the land of 
the Philistines, God appeared to him for the purpose of putting his 
faith to the proof; and of giving him in the person of Isaac, a lively 
representation of what was to befal his seed, the Christ, then in the 
loins of Isaac, before he should be exalted to nherit Canaan and the 

ifen. xx. i. * Oen. xx. 15; xii. 25, 31. » Oen. xxi. 33, §4. lets vli. 4. » Gen. xxtii. l,%. 

• Gun. xi. 32. 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 229 

world. The trial was a very severe one. He was commanded to 
take Isaac, " his only son whom he loved," into the land of Moriah ; 
and " offer him there for a burnt-offering upon one of the moun- 
tains," which God should point out. Moriah was itself a mountain 
upon which Solomon afterwards built the temple j 1 and the land, or 
region, around, is celebrated by the mounts, afterwards called Zion, 
Olivet, and Calvary. The mountain chosen of God is not named ; 
I can only therefore express my opinion that it was Calvary. It 
took him till " the third itay " to arrive at the place, a distance of 
forty miles in a straight line from Beersheba. This will not be sur- 
prising when it is remembered, that he rode upon an ass, accompanied 
by two youno; men, beside Isaac, who conveyed the wood, and other 
necessaries for the journey. Their progress was therefore slow. 
u On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place 
afar off." He then caused the party to halt. He told the young 
men to stay there with the ass ; " and I and the lad," said he, " will 
go yonder and worship, and come again to you." But if he were 
going to slay Isaac, how could Isaac and he come again to them? 
The apostle explains this, saying, " By faith Abraham when he was 
tried offered up Isaac ; and he that had received the promises offered 
up his only begotten " of Sarah. " Of whom it was said, That in 
Isaac shall thy Seed be called : accounting that God was able to raise 
him up, even from the dead ; from whence also he received him in a 
parable — tv 7rapa/3o\i ? . 2 Abraham fully intended to slay Isaac ; but 
he firmly believed that God would raise him from the dead again ; 
because all the promises God had made him were to be accomplished 
in Isaac's Seed ; as it is written, " My covenant will I establish with 
Isaac and with his seed after him :" therefore, said Abraham to the 
young men, " we will come again to you." 

The parable, or representation, of what was afterwards to happen 
to Isaac's Seed, the Christ, now began. " Abraham took the wood 
of the burnt-offering, and laid it upon Isaac, his son ;" while he 
carried the fire and the knife. Isaac went on with great readiness, 
not in the least suspecting that he was the proposed victim. " My 
father !" said he, as they jogged along ; and he said, " Here am I my 
son." " Behold, said Isaac, the fire and the wood • but where is the 
lamb for a burnt-offering?" And Abraham said, "My son, God 
will provide himself a lamb for a burnt-offering." 

Having arrived at the place, built an altar, and laid the wood in 
order, he bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the 
wood. He then stretched forth his hand, and took the knife, to slay 
his son. At this crisis, when Isaac was expecting instant death at 
the hand of his father, who loved him as his only son, the angel of 
the Lord called to him out of heaven, and commanded him to do the 
lad no harm. A ram caught in a thicket by the horns was appointed 
as a substitute for Isaac, who was therefore substitutionally slain ; 
but by his personal deliverance from death, restored to Abraham as 
by a resurrection. Abraham called the place of this memorable and 
instructive transaction, Jehovah-jireh ; and upwards of four 

1 2 Chron. iii. 1. ' Heb. xi. 17—19. 



230 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

hundred years afterwards, it was known by the name of " the 
Mount of the Lord." 1 

But before we dismiss the parable of the Seed, it is to be remarked, 
that it was not completed in the figurative resurrection of Isaac. 
The sacrificial death and resurrection of Christ had been represented ; 
but then, after these events, what was to be his destiny ? The answer 
to this question is found in the closing incident of the parable. Moses 
testifies that " the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of 
heaven the second time." The first time he announced from heaven 
the acceptance of the son's sacrifice ; but the second time the Lord 
spoke from heaven, he had reference to Christ's triumph over his 
enemies, and his possession of the world, as preached to Abraham in 
the gospel at the beginning. " By myself have I sworn, saith the 
Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld 
thy son, thine only son : that in blessing I will bless thee, and in 
multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and 
as the sand which is upon the sea shore : and thy Seed shall possess 
the gate of his enemies ; and in thy Seed shall all the nations of the 
earth be blessed ; because thou hast obeyed my voice." Thus, the 
parabolic representation was finished, " and Abraham returned to his 
young men ; and they rose up, and went together to Beer-sheba ; and 
Abraham dwelt there." 

SUMMARY OF ABRAHAM'S FAITH. 

Abraham is the father of all them who believe, and who walk in 
the steps of that faith which he had while yet uncircumcised. This 
is the apostle's testimony. I think I need scarcely say, yet it may be 
useful to do so, that no one can walk in the steps of Abraham' 's faith 
who does not believe the same things. This is self-evident. It is to 
be to Abraham according to his faith ; and this is the rule for every 
one else. We shall inherit what we have faith in. If we have an 
understanding faith in the truth, we shall inherit the truth ; but if we 
believe in what is not true, and therefore visionary, we shall inherit 
nothing but the whirlwind. Now, if it be asked, " What is the 
truth ?" — the answer is, the things which Abraham believed, with the 
acknowledgment that Jesus is the Seed spoken of in the promises 
made to him. It is, therefore, essential to our salvation that we be 
familiar with the matters of his faith. To make this as easy as possi- 
ble, then, I shall here subjoin a summary of the faith which wag 
counted to him for righteousness. I would just remind the reader 
here, that Abraham was justified because he believed on God. This 
does not mean, because he believed in the existence of God. This is 
implied. To believe on God in the scripture sense is the " being 
fully persuaded that what he has promised, he is also able to per- 
form ;" and because this was the case with Abraham, " therefore it 
was imputed to him for righteousness." Furthermore, this persuasion 
does not consist in saying, " whatever it is God has promised I know 
not, but of this I am persuaded, he will perform it." This is not the 

« Gen. uil. 14. I 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOB. 231 

sort of persuasion God accepts. He requires men to acquaint them- 
selves first with what he has promised, and then to consult the 
testimony he has given until they are fully persuaded as Abraham 
was. " Now," says the apostle, " it was not written for Abraham's 
sake alone, that his full persuasion of the divine promise was counted 
to him for righteousness j but for us also to whom it shall be imputed 
if we believe on God." 

In studying the life of Abraham his biography presents him — 

1. As an idolator under condemnation with the world ; 

2. As a believer of the gospel preached by an angel of the Lord ; 

3. As justified from all past sins by faith in its promises ; and 

4. As justified by works unto eternal life. 

These four particulars are aflirmable of all Abraham's spiritual 
children. Born of the flesh they are denizens of the world, and 
heirs of condemnation ; then they believe the gospel ; afterwards 
they are justified by faith from past sins ; and subjected to a subse- 
quent probation by which their faith is tried and made perfect. It is 
worthy of remark here, that Abraham believed the gospel ten years 
before Ids faith was counted to him for righteousness. This appears 
from the fact that the gospel was preached to him at Haran ; and it 
was not until the occasion of the confirmation of the covenant at 
Hebron, that the Lord vouchsafed him an acquittal from all his past 
sins ; which is implied in the testimony that " he believed in the 
Lord ; and he counted it to him for righteousness." This faot 
ought to teach the reader, that it is not at the instant a man believes 
that he is justified. A man may believe the truth for many years, 
and yet not be the subject of the righteousness of God. If so, it 
may then be asked, " When, or at what point of time, and how, is a 
man's faith in the truth counted to him for remission of sins ? As to 
the manner of its imputation, this must necessarily differ from the 
case of Abraham. The angel of the Lord announced to Abraham 
his justification by word of mouth ; but under the present arrange- 
ment of things, this is not to be expected. The angel sent to 
Cornelius did not pronounce his justification ; but simply put him in 
the way of attaining it. I trust the reader has not forgotten the use 
of the key in his case. The scriptures say that through Jesus is now 
preached the remission of sins to those who believe the gospel of the 
kingdom ; and that justification by faith is through his Name. That 
is, God has appointed an institution through which remission of sins 
is communicated to believers of the things of the kingdom of God 
and the name of Jesus : so that instead of sending an angel to 
announce to each individual that his faith is counted to him for 
righteousness, as in the case of Abraham ; he has caused a general 
proclamation to be made, that " through Christ's name " believers 
may obtain the remission of sins. Now, there is but one way for a 
believer of the gospel to get at this name, to wit, by being " bap- 
tized into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
Spirit." The answer to the question, then, is this, that a man's faith 
in the gospel is counted to him for righteousness in the act of being 

' Rom. iv. 11. 



232 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

baptized into the name. There is no other way than this, and even a 
believer of the truth will die in his sins unless he submit to it. 

The '* articles," then, of Abraham's faith were these — 

1. That God would multiply his descendants as the stars of heaven 
for multitude, and make them a great and mighty nation ; 

*2. That at that time his own name would be great ; 

8. That out of his posterity should arise One, in whom and in 
himself all the nations of the earth should be blessed ; 

4. That he together with this personage should have actual pos- 
session of the land of Canaan for ever ; 

5. That they two, with all his adopted seed, should possess the 
world ; 

6. That the seed, or Christ, would be an only begotten and beloved 
son, even the seed of the woman only, and therefore of God ; that 
he would fall a victim to his enemies ; and in his death be accepted 
as an offering by being raised from the dead, after the example in the 
case of Isaac ; 

7. That at a second time, Christ would possess the gate of his 
enemies in triumph, and obtain the land of Canaan, and the dominion 
of the woild according to the promise; and, 

8. That, at that time, he and his adopted seed, would be maae 
perfect, receive the promises, and " enter into the joy of their Lord." 

Such was the faith of Abraham in outline, and such must be the 
faith of all who would inherit with him. In conclusion, I would 
direct the reader's attention to the fact, that Abraham was the subject 
of a twofold justification, as it were ; first, of a justification by faith ; 
and secondly, of a justification by works. Paul says, he was justified 
by faith ; and James, that he was "justified by works." They are 
both right. As a sinner he was justified from his past sins when his 
faith was counted to him for righteousness ; and as a saint, he was 
justified by works when he offered up Isaac. Of his justification as 
a saint, James writes, " Abraham our father was justified by works, 
when he offered Isaac his son upon the altar. Faith wrought with 
his work?, and by works was faith made perfect. And the scripture 
was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed 
unto him for righteousness : and he was called the friend of God. 
Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith 
Wily.' * I have termed it a twofold justification Vy way of illustration ; 
but it is in fact, only one. The two stand related as cause and effect ; 
faith being the motive principle it is a justification which begins with 
the remission of sins that are.past, and is perfected in obedience unto 
death. The idea may be simplified thus. No exaltation without 
probation. If a man believe and obey the gospel his past sins are 
forgiven him in Christ ; but, if after this he walk in the course of 
the world, his faith is proved to be dead, and he forfeits his title to 
eternal life. But if on the other hand, a man become an adopted 
son of Abraham, and " by a patient continuance in well-doing seek 
for glory, honor, and incorruptibility," - he will find everlasting life 
in the I aradise of G:l. 

• James ii. 21—24. * Rom. ii. 7. 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 233 



CHAPTER III. 

The gospel preached to Isaac.— The election of Jacob. — The scripture doctrine of 
election — Not according to popular tradition. — i low men are elected, and how 
they may know it. — Esau hated.— Vision of Jacob's Ladder. — Jacob's care for his 
body after death. — Joseph's anxiety about his bones. — Jacob's propbecv of the 
Last Days. — Summary of " the faith " at Joseph's death. — Things established. — 
Chronology of the Age before the Law. 



Abraham's faith having been perfected by the severe trial to which 
it was subjected on the Mount of the Lord, the remainder of his 
sojourn among the living appears to have been no further illustrated 
by angelic visitations. Sarah had died "at Kirjath-arba, the same is 
Hebron in the land of Canaan," two years after his removal from 
Beer-sheba ; where he continued to reside for the rest of his days, 
being a period of thirty-eight years. During this time, " the Lord 
blessed him in all things ;" and he became great in the midst of 
Canaan ; though he possessed of it only the field and cave of Mach- 
pelah, which he had purchased for a burial place of the sons of 
Heth. The Lord had given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and 
gold, and men-servants, and maid-servants, and camels, and asses j 1 
and so gave him an influence and consideration among the surround- 
ing tribes which riches are sure to create. But in all his prosperity, 
he did not forget the promises. He had trained up Isaac in his own 
faith ; and in order to preserve him from the evil and corrupting 
influence of faithless women, and to contribute to the future welfare 
of his descendants, he took an oath of his steward that he should not 
take a wife for his son of the daughters of the Canaanites among 
whom he dwelt; but from among his kindred in Mesopotamia, who 
appear to have also believed in God. c The steward, however, thought 
it possible he might not succeed ; but Abraham had no such misgiv- 
ing. " The Lord God of heaven," said he, " who took me from my 
father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and who spake 
unto me, and sware unto me, saying, Unto thy Seed wid I (jive this 
land : he shall send his angel before," and prosper thy way. 

Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, with whom 
lie lived in Sarah's tent, who had been dead three years. At the end 
of thirty-five years from this time, Abraham died, being a hundred 
and seventy-five, having " dwelt in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the 
heirs with him of the same promise," 2 for fifteen years. " He was 
gathered to his people. And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him 
in the cave of Machpelah " in a good old age, as the Lord had told 
him. " He died having obtained a good report through faith, not 
having received the promises ; that he without the rest of the seed, 
might not be made perfect." 4 Such is the scriptural obituary of all 
who die in hope of the kingdom of God. 

1 Gen. xxiv. 35. Gen. xxiv. 60. 3 Heb. xi. 9. * Heb. xL 18, 39, 40. 



234 THE THINGS OF IE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

After Abraham's decease, Isaac broke up his encampment at 
Hebron, purposing to go down into Egypt in consequence of a famine 
in the land of Canaan. He had travelled south as far as Gerar 01 
the Philistines on his way thither. But the Lord appeared unto him 
there, and said, "Go not down into E>gypt : dwell in the land which 
I shall tell thee of. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, 
and will bless thee : for unto thee, and unto thy Seed will I give all 
these countries, and I will perform the oath which I swaie unto 
Abraham thy father; and I will make thy seed to multiply as the 
stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries : and 
in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed: because that 
Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, and commandments, 
my statutes, and my laws/" 1 In these words, the gospel was preached 
unto Isaac as it had been to Abraham before him. He also believed 
the Lord ; for on the faith of these promises, he proceeded no farther 
on his way to Egypt, but M dwelt in Gerar." There was no uncer- 
tainty in Isaac's mind. He did not look beyond the grave as to " an 
undiscovered bourne whence no traveller returns." The future was 
no mystery to him. " Heaven " was to him a state of blessedness 
upon earth. A well-detined, and definable, constitution of things. 
*' I will bless thee," said God : and mark the grounds upon which 
this blessing was predicated ; "for" continued the Lord, 

1. I will give all these countries to thee; 

2. I will give all these countries to thy seed ; " who is Christ," says 
the apostle ; 

3. I will make thy seed a great multitude ; 

4. I will give this multitude of people all these countries; and, 

5. I will bless all nations in thy seed ; the Christ. 

As Abraham had died without receiving these promises made to him 
also ; and as Isaac knew they were to inherit together ; the promise 
of " all these countries " to him, was equivalent to an assurance that 
he should rise from the dead ; when he Would see his father and the 
Christ in possession of the land ; and his descendants increased to a 
great multitude, and then become a mighty nation exclusively 
occupying it; and all the nations happy and contented under the 
dominion of Christ. This was the gospel he believed ; and the 
heaven, and blessedness for which he hoped. 

After this Isaac sowed in the land, and received that year a hundred- 
fold; and " he waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he 
became very great; and the Philistines envied him." And their king 
said, " Go from us : for thou art much mightier than we." So he 
left Gerar, and went to Beer-sheba After this, he received a visit 
from the king of Gerar accompanied by one of his friends, and the 
general of his army. But Isaac did not seem pleased at their 
coming ; for he asked them, " Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye 
hate me, and have sent me away from you?" Their answer shows 
that they were aware of the relation Isaac sustained to God and to 
his promises; for they replied, " We saw certainly that the Lord was 
with thee j we wish therefore to make a covenant with thee that thou 

1 Gen. xxvi. 2—5. 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 235 

wilt do us no hurt;" and they ended by stating their conviction, 
saving, " Thou art now the blessed of the Lord;' that is, Abraham 
being dead with whom we made a covenant before, the blessing of 
God promised to him now rests upon thee, from whom we seek amity 
and peace. 1 

When Isaac was sixt}% and Abraham a hundred and sixty, Esau 
and Jacob were born. Before their birth, the Lord said to Rebekah, 
** Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be 
separated from ihy bowels ; and the one people shall be stronger than 
the other people ; and the elder shall serve the younger." Upon this 
election, the apostle makes the following remarks, saying, " When 
Rebekah had conceived by our father Isaac : — for the children being 
not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose 
of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him 
that calleth ; — it was said unto her, the elder shall serve the younger. 
As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated." " This 
election had relation to the purpose of God revealed in the promises 
to Abraham and Isaac. He purposed to make " a mighty nation " 
of their posterity, out of whom " He should come that shall have 
dominion." 3 This purpose could not be accomplished if left to the 
undirected will of man. Abraham would have made Ishmael his 
heir, and Isaac would have elected Esau, both of which, as events 
have shown, would have defeated, rather than have promoted, " the 
purpose of God." The wild Arabs of the desert, who have descended 
from Ishmael ; or the Edomites, the posterity of Esau; both of which 
races illustrate the moral obliquity of their fathers : would have been 
a sorry election in which the purpose of God might be established. 
The rejection of Ishmael, and the election of Jacob, prove the wisdom 
and foresight of him with whom the fathers had to do. He sees the 
end of all things from the beginning ; and perceiving the future 
characters of the two races, he said by Malachi, u I loved Jacob, and 
I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the 
dragons of the wilderness." 

It may be remarked here, that the election of scripture hath reference 
to " the purpose of God " in relation to the constitution of the king- 
dom. He has elected its territory ; he hath elected the nation to 
inhabit it for ever; he hath elected the king to rule over it; and he 
hath elected its saints to assist him in the administration of its affairs. 
The election in all these cases has been " of him that calleth^ This 
election, however, is not such as " divines " contend for ; nor does it 
relate to the subjects of which they treat. He does not say to this 
man, " I elect you from all eternity to be saved from the flames of 
hell, do what you may;" nor does he say to that, "I predetermine 
you to reprobation, and eternal torture, do what you can." To affirm 
this of God is to blaspheme his name. The scriptures declare, that 
" he is no respecter of persons ; " that " he has no pleasure in the 
death of the wicked ; but that the wicked turn from his way, and 
live;" and that " he is long-suffering, not willing that any should 
perish, but that all should come to repentance." 4 Such a statement 

' Gen. xxvi. 29 ; xxi. 23. »Kom. ix. 10—13; Mai. i. 2, 3. 3 Numb, xxiv. 19. * Acts x. 34; 
Ezek. xxxiii. 11; 2 Pet. iii. 9. 



236 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

as this, is entirely at variance with " theology" whose traditions are 
the exhalations of the carnal mind of a fierce and gloomy age. 

God elects saints for his kingdom, not by foregone conclusions 
which are irreversible ; but men are " elect through sanctification of 
spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ." 1 
This reveals to us the means, and design of the election in relation to 
the present time. " Sanctification of spirit" is the means ; " obedience 
and sprinkling of Christ's blood," the end. How this is brought 
about is explained in these words — " Ye have purified your souls in 
obeying the truth through the spirit." 2 The manner in which men 
are brought to obedience, and purification by the sprinkled blood, 
through the spirit, is practically explained in the use of the keys by 
Peter on the day of Pentecost, and at the house of Cornelius. The 
spirit through the apostle, " convinced men of sin, and righteousness, 
and judgment to come; v and confirmed his words by the signs which 
accompanied them. They believed and obeyed the truth; and "in 
obeying it " were purified from all past sins by faith in the blood of 
sprinkling. Thus, they were " washed, sanctified, and justified by 
the name of the Lord, and by the spirit of God;" and after this 
manner elected according to his foreknowledge and predetermi- 
nation. 

No man need flatter himself that he is one of God's elect, unless 
he believes the gospel of the kingdom and obeys it, and walks in the 
steps of the faith of Abraham. A man then knows, and feels, that 
he is elected ; because God hath said, " He that believes the gospel, 
and is baptized, shall be saved." In the prophecy of Mount Olivet 
the elect are named in connection with the suppression of the Hebrew 
commonwealth. It is there written, " Except those days be short- 
ened, there should no flesh be saved ;" that is, no Jew should survive: 
"but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." 3 These elect 
were the servants of the Lord in Israel, to whom Jesus had granted 
power to become the sons of God ; as well as the fathers, for whose 
sake Israel is beloved ; 4 and for whose future blessedness and glory, 
the nation is preserved. This preservation of Israel for the 'elect's 
sake, is beautifully expressed by the prophet, saying, " Thus saith the 
Lord, as the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy 
it not: for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants' sake that 
I may not destroy them all. And I will bring forth a Seed out of 
Jacob, and out of Juclah an inheritor' of my mountains ; and mine 
elect shall inherit it, (the land of Canaan) and my servants shall 
dwell there. And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of 
Achor a place for the herds to lie down in, for my people that have 
sought me." 5 " God," then, " has not cast away his people Israel, 
whom heforchncw" and spoke of to Abraham and Isaac, before they 
had any sons, He has chastised them for their sins ; but " there is 
a remnant according to the election of grace." " The election hath 
obtained the grace, by accepting Jesus as the Seed, and inheritor of 
the land ; and the rest are blinded until this day." But this blindness 
is not permanent. They will yet become a great and mighty nation, 

' lPeUi. 2. M Pet. i. 22. J Matt. xiiv. 22. « Rom. xi, 21. * Isaiah Ixv. 8, 0. 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 237 

rejoicing in the service of the Lord Jesus and the elect ; for " blind- 
ness in part has happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles 
be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved " J — that is, all the 
twelve tribes shall be reunited into one nation and kingdom upon 
their own land, and be received into the favor of God; - they will 
then have been grafted in again, according to the word of the Lord. 

In conclusion, every thing in relation to the kingdom is ordained 
upon sovereign principles. Nothing is left to the will of man. 
Hence, the apostle saith, i - It is not of him that willeth, nor of him 
that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy." The call of the 
Gentiles to take part in the future kingdom is a striking illustration 
of the truth of this. Had things been left to the apostles, they would 
not have extended the invitation to men of other nations to become 
with them heirs of the kingdom of Canaan, and of the dominion of 
the world. Th^y were running to and fro among their own nation, 
calling upon them to become the children of the promise who are 
counted for the seed; but it was not of thrir will, but contrary to it, 
that "the word" was preached to the Gentiles, opening the kingdom 
to them. The invitation to our race, as the apostle truly saith, was 
" of God that showeth mercy." Pharoah of Egypt is another 
illustration of this principle. God purposed to show forth his power 
that his name might be declared throughout all the earth. This 
manifestation was not left to the wisdom or pleasure of Moses. The 
display was to be according to the divine will. The world was over, 
spread with ignorance and superstition; and Pharoah was the autocrat 
of the age. He was totally ignorant of who the Lord was, and 
therefore refused to obey him. He was u a vessel unto dishonor " — 
an idolator under the dominion of the propensities. Had he been 
left to himself, he would have continued like all other chiefs of the 
sin-power, " a vessel of wrath fitted for destruction." His tyranny 
had come to this crisis, namely, either the Israelites must be exter- 
minated, or their oppressor and his power must be destroyed. The 
judgment in the case belonged to the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and 
of Jacob ; the result could not, therefore, be for a moment doubtful. 
He that has power over the clay, had appointed Israel to be " a vessel 
unto honor," upon whom it was his sovereign pleasure to have mercy. 
They were, therefore, " vessels fitted for mercy," whom he had before 
prepared, that, on them he might make known the riches of his glory, 
both then and in a time to come. To effect their deliverance then ; 
to punish Pharaoh and his abettors for their tyranny ; and to make 
himself known to the surrounding nations — he stirred up the 
Egyptian king to show all that was in his obdurate and relentless 
nature. Upon this view of the case, he elected Pharoah and his host 
to a terrible overthrow; while he elected Israel to become his people 
in the land of Canaan. Thus " he had mercy on whom he would 
have mercy, and whom he would he hardened." 3 Such is the doc- 
trine of election as taught in the scriptures of truth. Let us return 
now to the further consideration of the case of Esau and Jacob. 

' Rom. xi. 2, 5, 7, 8. 25, 38. } Ezek. xxxvii. 25— 28; xxxvi. 33— 33; xxxix. 25— 29. 
3 Rom. ix. 11— 33. 



238 THE THINGS OP THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

The boys grew to be men. " Esau was an expert hunter, and a 
man of the field." The result of these pursuits was to surround 
himself with warriors, whose power grew into the future kingdom of 
Edom. When he was ninety-one years old, he was able to march 
with four hundred men against Jacob, then on his return from Meso- 
potamia. But Jacob was of a more peaceful disposition. "He was 
a plain man, dwelling in tents." While they sojourned with their 
father, Esau was Isaac's favorite ; and Jacob, his mother's. One 
day while Jacob was preparing a pottage of red lentiles, Esau came 
in from hunting very much overcome with fatigue. He requested 
Jacob to let him partake of the red lentiles. But Jacob was not 
disposed to part with it without a consideration. Esau was the elder, 
and according to the custom of primogeniture, was intitled to certain 
privileges, termed birthright. Now, Jacob, whose name signifies 
" supplanter" wished to supplant him in this right, that he might 
afterwards be intitled to the precedence over Esau, which God had 
indicated in saying, " The elder shall serve the younger." Therefore 
before he consented to Esau's request, he said, " Sell me this day thy 
birthright." Esau reflected on the demand a little, at length he said, 
" Behold, I am at the point to die ; what profit shall this birthright 
do to me ?" "Swear then," said Jacob, "to me this day : and he 
sware unto him : and sold his birthright to Jacob." Jacob then gave 
him the red pottage. From this time Esau acquired the surname of 
Edom, which signifies red; and commemorates the fact that " Esau 
despised his birthright." 1 

When Esau was forty years old he married two Hittite women, 
who were a grief of mind to both his parents. About thirty years 
after this, when Isaac was one hundred and thirty-one, he determined 
to bestow his blessing upon Esau, although he had sold his birthright. 
But the faithful vigilance of Rebekah circumvented it. The elder 
was to serve the younger, and she intended that Isaac's blessing should 
take that direction. Accordingly, in blessing the supposed Esau 
(for his eyes were too dim to see accurately) he said, " God give thee 
of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of 
corn and wine : let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee : 
be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother s sons bow down to thee: 
cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth 
thee." Here was a blessing, contrary to the will of Isaac, pronounced 
upon Jacob, whom God had predetermined to bless to the same pur- 
pose. Truly, u it is not of him that willeth, but of God that showeth 
mercy." 

Esau had fully calculated on the blessing although he had bartered 
away his birthright, seeing that Isaac had promised to bestow it upon 
him on his return from the field. When, therefore, he entered to 
receive the blessing, and announced himself as the real Esau, " Isaac 
trembled very exceedingly" when he found that he had been imposed 
upon; nevertheless, he confirmed what he had done, saying, " Yea, 
and he shall be blessed." When Esau discovered what had happened, 
'• he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, saying, Bless me, 

' Gen. xxr. 27—84. 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD, 239 

even me, also, O my father !" And he lifted up his voice and wept. 
But the thing that was done could not be revoked, for the hand of 
God was in it. 

The apostle cites the case of Esau as a warning to believers lest 
any of them should u fail of the grace of God" All who are 
Abraham's seed by being in Christ have obtained the birthright ; and 
are thereby intitled to the blessing of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 
that hereafter "people should serve them, and nations bow down to 
them ; and that they should be lords ovt their brethren." But, if 
for some temporal advantage they shouk. " sin wilfully," and thus 
barter it away, " there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a 
certain fearful looking for of judgment, and fiery indignation, which 
shall devour the adversaries." 1 There is no scope afforded to such 
for repentance ; for they have placed themselves precisely in Esau's 
position. Hence, the apostle exhorted his brethren to look diligently 
to it, that none of them proved to be "a profane person, as Esau, 
who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright : " for," said he, 
" ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the 
blessing, he was rejected : for he found no possibility of a change of 
(Isaac's) mind (/xtTauoia^ tottov o«x twpe) though he sought it carefully 
with tears." 2 God is merciful ; but he is also jealous ; and " will by 
no means clear the wilful." If his children sell their birthright to 
the world for any thing it can tempt them with, his mind like Isaac's, 
is immovable ; and transgressors cannot change it, though they may 
seek carefully to do so with tears, and prayers, and with great and 
exceeding bitter cries. 

Jacob having been involuntarily appointed heir of the blessing by 
Isaac, Esau conceived a hatred of him, and was overheard to threaten 
him with death when their father was dead. This determination 
was reported to Rebekah, who, having sent for Jacob, informed him 
of Esau's malice, and advised him to escape into Mesopotamia, and 
remain awhile with her brother Laban at Haran, until his brother's 
fury should subside. It was necessary, however, to get Isaac's con- 
sent, that no breach might be made between him and Jacob, for Esau 
was his favorite son. Rebekah knew well how to manage this. 
Isaac as well as herself were sorely annoyed by Esau's wives, whose 
demeanor appears to have been very disgusting to them. She com- 
plained to Isaac of the grief they were to her, and declared to him 
that if Jacob were to take a wife from among the daughters of the 
land, her life would be of no value to her. This being also 
Isaac's feeling in the case, he fell into her views immediately; 
and having called Jacob, he blessed him, and charged him, say- 
ing, " Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan?' 
He then directed him to go and take a wife of Laban's family ; 
and said, " God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and 
multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people : and 
give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy Seed 
frith thee ; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a 
stranger, r$h,ich God gave unto Abraham."* Such was Isaac's 

« Heb, x. 26—37. , Heb. xii. 15—17. » Gen, xxviii, 1—4. 



240 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

understanding of the blessing in regard to the time of its accom- 
plishment. He did not expect it until the Seed, or Christ, was 
manifested ; but when he appeared in possession they, even Abra- 
ham, Isaac, and Jacob, -would be blessed with him. Let us 
proceed now to the consideration of 

THE VISION OF JACOB'S LADDER. 

On the night after his departure, while asleep under the canopy of 
heaven, the Lord appeared to him in a dream. In the vision he saw, 
as it were, " a ladder set up on the land, and the top of it reached to 
heaven : and behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on 
it. And the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God 01 
Abraham thy father, and the God of Isanc : the land whereon thou 
liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed : m whom all the families 
of the earth shall be blessed. And behold, I am with thee, and will 
protect thee in all places whither thou goest, and I will bring thee 
again into this land : for I will not leave thee, until I have done that 
which I have spoken to thee of." l Thus, in the blessing that now 
rested upon Jacob as well as upon Abraham, and Isaac, God 
promised 

1. That at some future time not specified, he would give Jacob 
actual and personal possession of the land he was then lying upon, 
and upon which the town of Bethel stood for ages : 

'2. That he should have a seed, or descendant, in whom all nations 
should be blessed ; and, 

3. That Jacob and his seed should have possession of Palestine 
and Syria together, that is, at one and the same time. 

The" exact time, I say, was not specified in the promise. Jacob, 
however, was given to understand by the representation in the vision, 
that it would be a long time after the epoch of his dream. As the 
apostle says, " he saw the promises afar o t ff, and was persuaded of 
them, and embraced them, and confessed that he was a stranger and 
pilgrim on the land." He saw the fulfilment of the things promised 
afar off in point of time ; but not afar off as to place : for the place 
where they -were to be fulfilled was Bethel, about fifteen miles from 
Jerusalem. He was at the place ; and so well did he understand this, 
that he termed Bethel " the gate of heaven, 99 

Now, the interval of time between the giving of the promise and 
the fulfilment of it, was represented to Jacob by a ladder of extraor- 
dinary length ; one end of which stood at Bethel, and the other end 
against the vault of heaven. Here were two points of contact, the 
land of Judah and heaven ; and the connecting medium, the ladder 
between them. This was a most expressive symbol, as will be 
perceived by considering the uses to which a ladder is applied. It is 
a contrivance to connect distant points, by which one at the lower end 
may reach a desired altitude. It is, then, a connecting medium 
between points of distance. Now, if instead of distant localities 
distant epochs be substituted, the ages anji generations which connect 

» Gen. xxviii. 4, 10—15; xxv. 11,28, 28-34; Rom. ix. 10—13. 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 241 

them will sustain a similar relation to the epochs as a ladder to the 
ground on which it rests, and the point of elevation against which it 
leans. The ladder, then, in Jacob's vision was representative of his 
seed in their generations and appointed times. One end of it was in 
his loins ; the other, in the Lord Jesus when he should sit upon his 
throne, reigning over the land upon which Jacob was asleep. 

But upon this ladder of ages and generations, with Jacob at the 
bottom and his seed, the Shiloh, at the top, " the angels of God were 
seen ascending and descending." This represented to him that the 
affairs of his posterity, natural and spiritual, in all their relations with 
the world, would be superintended by the Elohim, who would pass to 
and fro between earth and heaven, in the performance of their work. 
Hence, the apostle styles them, " all ministering spirits, sent forth to 
minister for them who are about to inherit salvation" 1 (Sia tows 
jutXXoi/Tas k\iipovoheiv truiTr\piuv.} Israel and the nations are under their 
vicegerency till the Lord Jesus comes to assume the sovereignty of 
the world. When he appears in his kingdom, the land of Israel 
especially will be no longer subjected to their superintendance. The 
apostle styles. Palestine and Syria, when the Hebrew commonwealth 
is reconstituted upon them, the future habitable- (jnv oiKovpzvw t?jv 
fitWovaav ) When he wrote this, these countries were inhabited by 
Israel under the Mosaic constitution, mixed up with, and in subjection 
to, the Gentiles. Under this arrangement their affairs were superin- 
tended by the angels of God. But with the future habitable it will 
be different ; for, the apostle says, " God hath not put it in subjection 
to the angels :". but " when he brings the first-born back again into 
the habitable (eis t?ji> oLKov^vnu) he says, ' let all the angels of God do 
homage to him.' " This return of the Lord to the habitable cannot 
be referred to the epoch of his resurrection ; because he had not then 
left it. Indeed he never left it but once before his resurrection, and 
that was involuntarily when Joseph and Mary carried him into Egypt. 
He said himself that he had not been to the Father before rising from 
the dead. 3 He was in the habitable only asleep in death. But 
when he ascended then he departed into a far country to receive the 
kingdom ; and when he had received it, to return. But, he has not 
yet received it, or he would be at this time reigning in the future 
habitable land. Till the Lord Jesus, however, sits on his throne as 
" King of the Jews," 4 the providential direction of human affairs is 
committed to the Elohim ; who are termed the angels of the little 
ones who believe in Jesus ; 5 because they minister to their profit, in 
causing all things among the nations to work together for their, 
ultimate good. 

When that remarkable change in the constitution of things is 
brought to pass, when Jesus having received the sovereignty, the 
angels shall do homage to him, there will be a great national jubilee 
throughout the earth. The nations which are now groaning under 
the blood-stained tyrannies of the world, and imprecating curses loud 
and deep upon the heads of their destroyers, will send up to heaven a 
shout " like mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God, 

» Sleb. i. 14. - Heb. ii. 5 3 John xx. 17. 4 John x/iii. 33—39 ; xix. 12, 19. * Matt, xviii. 3-6, 10. 

Q 



242 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

the Omnipotent reigneth." 1 Paul evidently had a view to this period 
of blessedness, when he quoted the saying, " worship him all gods." 
He quoted this from the ninety-seventh psalm, which celebrates the 
epoch of the reign in these words : — " The Lord reigneth ; let the 
earth rejoice ; let the multitude of the isles be glad. Clouds and 
darkness are round about him ; righteousness and judgment are the 
habitation of his throne. A fire goeth before him, and burnetii up 
his enemies round about. His lightnings enlightened the world ; the 
earth saw and trembled. The hills melted like wax at the presence 
of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. The 
heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory. 
Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves 
in idols : worship him all ye Elohim. Zion heard, and was glad ; 
and the daughters of Judah rejoiced because of thy judgments, O 
Lord. For thou, Lord, art high above all the earth ; thou art exalted 
far above all the Elohim." Such will be the manifestation when the 
Father shall bring the Lord Jesus back again to the habitable. At 
present, the Elohim are ascending and descending the ladder, so to 
speak, between the Lord Jesus, who is at the right hand of the Majesty 
in the heavens, and the earth : but, when M he reigns on Mount 
Zion, and in Jerusalem before his ancients gloriously," 2 heaven and 
the habitable will be one ; and the Elohim will ascend and descend 
upon him. Heaven will then be open to the eyes of his saints, and 
they will behold the wonders of the invisible. For such is the doctrine 
taught by the Lord himself; who, when Nathanael recognized him 
as the Son of God, and King of Israel, because he revealed his secret 
actions, said to him, " Thou shalt see greater things than these. 
Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending 
and descending upon the Son of man." 3 Then will the future 
habitable have been subjected to the Son. 

The ladder of ages and generations, as I have said, connects the 
commencing and terminating, epochs, of a long period of time. Of 
this interval about three thousand seven hundred and sixty years have 
elapsed. A few more years only remain, and the top of the ladder 
will be attained by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and by all others 
with them who shall be accounted worthy of the kingdom of God. 
They will have reached to heaven ; not by flying thither as ghosts 
upon the wings of angels, but by heaven being brought down to earth, 
when the Lord Jesus shall descend in glory. 

Jacob sojourned with his uncle La ban twenty years.* While 
residing in Mesopotamia eleven sons were born to him. The 
twelfth, named Benjamin, was born of Rachel, the mother of 
Joseph, at Bethlehem Ephratha, where she died and was buried. 
Now, as Joseph was thirty-nine when Jacob went down into 
Egypt, being at that time a hundred and thirty years old ; 5 it follows 
that Jacob was ninety-one when Joseph was born, and seventy-one 
when he fled to Haran. After the birth of Joseph, the angel of 
God appeared to him, and said ; "I am the God of Bethel, where 
thou anointedst the pillar, and vowedst a vow ur.to me : now, 

» Rev. xix. 6. « Isaiah xxiv. 23. =» John i. 51. * Gen. xxxi 33. « Gen. xii. 48; xlv C ; fclvii. 0. 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 24? 

arise, get thee out of this land, and return unto the land of thy 
kindred," He obeyed. Having secretly collected together all his 
gubstance, he fled from Laban, taking up his route " to go to Isaac 
his father in the land of Canaan." Having crossed the Euphrates, 
he arrived at the river Jabbok, which flows into the Jordan about 
midway between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. Not very 
far from the confluence of these rivers " the angels of God met him," 
and on this account he named the place Mahanaim, that is, God's 
host. Having sent messengers to Esau in the land of Seir to propi- 
tiate him, and got over all that he had, he remained on the north side 
alone. It was here that he wrestled with one of the angels, who 
blessed him ; and changed his name from Jacob to the more honor- 
able one of Israel, which signifies a prince of God. As a memorial 
of this honor, the angel touched the tendon in the hollow of his 
thigh, and caused it to shrink. So that Jacob became lame, " and 
halted upon his thigh." 

Having crossed the Jabbok to Penuel, and joined his company, he 
had an interview with Esau, who received him with apparent kind- 
ness, though with evident mistrust on the part of Jacob. A recon- 
ciliation ensued. Esau accepted a liberal present, and pressed upon 
Jacob the unwelcome protection of his warriors. Jacob, however, 
persuaded him to depart without him ; and he would follow " softly, 
until," said he, " I come unto my lord unto Seir." But as soon as 
Esau was well on his way, Jacob pushed on to Succoth. Having 
halted there for a time, he crossed the Jordan, and pitched at Shalem, 
in the land of Canaan. After his sons had taken vengeance upon 
the city on account of Dinah their sister, God appeared to him again, 
and told him to go and dwell at Bethel, and erect an altar there to 
God, who appeared to him when he fled from the face of Esau. 
The gods of Laban were still in the possession of his family. In 
obeying the voice of God, therefore, he ordered his household to put 
them away. This they did, and surrendered their ear-rings with 
them, and Jacob buried gods and jewels under an oak near Shechem. 

When he arrived at Bethel, he built the altar as God had told 
him. And God said to him there, " I am God Almighty : be 
fruitful and multiply : a nation and a company of nations shall be of 
thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins : and the land which I 
gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee will I give it, and to thy Seed after 
thee will I give the land." 1 In this renewal of the promise, the 
additional idea was revealed to Jacob, that the nation constituted of 
his descendants, would contain a plurality of nations, that is, be a 
national association of tribes. He was to inherit the land with them, 
and with the Seed, or Christ ; and as he knew they were to be 
oppressed by another nation till four hundred years, after which that 
nation would be judged, and his children would come out with 
great wealth ; this blessing at Bethel reminded him, that he would 
rise from the dead with Abraham, and inherit the land for ever with 
his Seed. Having left Bethel, he journeyed towards Bethlehem, on 
the way to which Rachel died. After her deaUi he spread his 

' Gen. xxxv. 12. 

Q2 



244 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

tent beyond the tower of Edar, on Mount Zion. From thence he 
came to Hebron, where his father Isaac dwelt. Twenty-nine 
years having elapsed after this re-union from Jacob's departure 
from Laban, Isaac died, having attained the age of one hundred 
and eighty years ; and his sons. Esau and Jacob, buried him. 1 

THE PARABLE OF JOSEPH. 

A parable is the setting forth of a certain thing as a representative 
of something else. Hence, it is a comparison, or similitude. It 
may be spoken, or acted. In the former case fiction is used to illus- 
trate that which is real ; while in the latter, real actions on a smaller 
scale are representative of remoter and grander events. Whether 
spoken, or acted, parables are dark and unintelligible to those who 
are not skilled in the things of the kingdom ; but when once they 
come to comprehend these, the things they resemble immediately 
appear. To allegorize is to represent truth by comparison. For 
certain features of the kingdom of God to be illustrated parabolically, 
is to speak, or act, allegorically ; and is a mode of instruction more 
calculated to keep up the attention, and to impress the mind perma- 
nently, than a set discourse, or formal disquisition. The scriptures 
are constructed after this ingenious plan, by which they are made so 
much more interesting, and capable of containing so much more 
matter, than any other book on the same subject, and of the same 
size. They are a study of themselves ; and no " rules of interpreta- 
tion," or of " logic," are of any value to the understanding of the 
things which they reveal. 

A parable was enacted by Abraham in offering up Isaac. The 
things transacted were real, but they were also parabolic, or figura- 
tive, of something else, even of the sacrifice and resurrection of the 
Seed, or Christ. After the death of Isaac, and when Jacob was 
waxing old, Joseph was selected from among his sons by the arrange- 
ments of God to be the typical representative of the future Seed, 
through whom the promises were to take effect. Hence, the life of 
Joseph became a living parable by which was represented to Jacob 
and his sons, and to believers afterwards, what was to be transacted 
in the life of Christ. In itself the story of Joseph is an interesting 
and moving history ; but when we read it as though we were reading 
of Christ instead of him, the narration assumes an importance which 
highly commends itself to the student of the word. 

Jacob had resided seventeen years in the land of Canaan after 
leaving Laban. Joseph was then seventeen, and Isaac one hundred 
and sixty-eight. It was, therefore, when Jacob was one hundred 
and twenty, and twelve years before the death of Isaac, that Joseph 
had his remarkable drear^s. These are the first examples on record 
of symbolical prophecy. They represented to Joseph thatTie should 
be lord over his brethren ; and when repeated to them, they as 
clearly understood them to indicate his supremacy and their subjec- 
tion, as though it had been ever so literally predicted. I mention 

1 Gen. xxxvi. 29. 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 245 

this to show that prophecy by symbols and symbolic action, is as 
intelligible as prophecy in the plainest words. 

Joseph was the beloved of his father, and the envied and hated of 
his brethren, whose conduct caused him to give his father an u evil 
report " of them. He dreamed that he and they were binding sheaves 
in the field, and that his sheaf stood upright, and theirs also round 
about, and that they made obeisance to his sheaf. When he told 
them his dream they caught at the meaning at once. " Shalt thou," 
said they, " indeed reign over us? or, shalt thou indeed have dominion 
over us ? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams and for 
his words." In his second dream " the sun and the moon, and the 
eleven stars, made obeisance to him ;" which Jacob interpreted, say- 
ing, " Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow 
down ourselves to thee to the earth ? And his brethren envied him : 
but his father observed the saying.''* 

Now in these little incidents we read, not only Joseph's exaltation, 
but the treatment Christ would afterwards receive from the sons of 
Joseph's brethren, and his subsequent exaltation to reign over them, 
when Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and his family, shall bow down 
before him to the earth. Jesus gave an evil report of his brethren, 
who saw that he was beloved of God ; he troubled them with his 
parables, and reproofs ; and they envied him and hated him for his 
words. The fate of Joseph awaited him ; for as the eleven conspired 
against Joseph to kill him, and actually sold him to the Ishmaelites 
of Midian for twenty pieces of silver, so was the Lord Jesus sold for 
thirty, and subjected to a violent death by the rulers, thinking thereby 
to falsify his words, and extinguish his pretensions to lordship over 
them. 

Joseph, having become the property of the Midianitish merchants, 
was u separated from his brethren," and as good as dead to them. 
They lost sight of him entirely, and at length forgot him altogether. 
Their conspiracy to all appearance had perfectly succeeded ; they had 
got rid of " the master of dreams ;" and had imposed upon Jacob 
the falsehood, that he had met with a violent death from a savage 
beast. But " God was with him;" and though they had made 
every thing sure, their sin was certain to overtake them. 

Joseph was carried into Egypt when he was seventeen years old ; 
and he was thirty-nine when he was made known to his brethren at 
their second interview ; hence, he was separate from his father's house 
for twenty-two years. During this time his fortunes were varied, but 
always tending to the promotion of God's purpose through him. The 
work to be accomplished was to plant the Israelites in Egypt; that 
they might be strangers in a land not theirs, and serve them ; and be 
afflicted, until the time should arrive for their oppressors to be judged, 
and their deliverance effected to the glory of Jehovah's name. God 
works by human instrumentality in the affairs of men. Hence, he 
selected Joseph, as he has since done the Lord Jesus, whom he has 
also u separated from his brethren," to be the honored agent in the 
developing of his purpose in regard to Israel in relation to their own 
destiny, and the judgment, and subsequent blessedness, of the nations. 



246 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

The second chapter of the Josephine parahle begins with Joseph 
in the house of Potiphar. Being there the victim of a false accusation 
he was immured in the state-prison. But even here he found favor, 
as he. had in Potiphar's house before ; for Joseph was a righteous 
man, and God was with him. He had been in prison two full years , 
when the king of Egypt had his dreams of the kine, and the ears. 
The report of his correct interpretation of the chief butler's, and the 
chief baker's, dreams, while in durance, caused him to be brought 
before Pharoah to interpret his. It was then believed that " interpre- 
tations belong to God ; " 1 that is, when he causes men to dream 
prophetically, he reserves the interpretation of them to himself. This 
is illustrated in the case before us, and afterwards in that of Nebu- 
chadnezzar. Pharoah consulted all the magicians and wise men of 
Egypt, but there was none that could interpret his dreams. But God 
revealed their interpretation to Joseph, who exhibited to the king a 
luminous exposition of them as indications of what God was about to 
do ; and offered him such advice in the emergency as convinced 
Pharoah that Joseph was " a man in whom the Spirit of God was," 
and that " none were so discreet and wise as he." u Therefore," said 
the king, "thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word 
shall all my people be ruled : only in the throne will I be greater 
than thou." 

When Joseph was thirty-seven years old, the famine began in 
Egypt. It extended to all the surrounding countries, and was sore in 
the land of Canaan. Hearing that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob 
sent •' Joseph's ten brethren" to purchase some. Now, Joseph, being 
governor was the man who sold the grain. This caused the sons of 
Israel to appear before him ; and as he had predicted " they bowed 
themselves before him with their faces to the earth." Joseph knew 
them; but they did not recognize him. He affected to believe they 
were spies, and put them in ward for three days; but afterwards 
released them, retaining one as a hostage, for their re-appearance with 
their youngest brother; and then sent them back loaded with grain 
for their father's house. The harsh treatment they experienced from 
Joseph brought to their recollection the manner they had treated him 
two and twenty years before. Their consciences accused them ; and 
not knowing that Joseph understood Hebrew, for he spoke with them 
through an interpreter, they confessed their guilt to one another in 
his presence, saying, " We are verily guilty concerning our brother, 
in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we 
would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us." 

Having visited Egypt a second time they were introduced into 
Joseph's house, when Simeon was restored to them. On Joseph's 
entrance " they bowed down their heads, and made obeisance." They 
were placed at table in regular order from the eldest to the youngest ; 
and they ate, drank, and were merry with Joseph, still supposing him 
to be an Egyptian. Having departed on their return to Canaan, 
Joseph caused them to be pursued, and brought back under pretence 
of having stolen his drinking cup. At this second interview, Judah 

> Gen. xL 8. 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 247 

made supplication for his brethren ; and confessed that God had found 
out the iniquity of himself and brethren ; and that they were now 
fairly the servants of the lord of Pharoah's kingdom. Judah having 
finished, Joseph could refrain no longer, but wept aloud, and an- 
nounced himself as their brother, whom they had sold into Egypt. 
They were greatly troubled at his presence ; but he tranquillized 
their fears, and assured them that it was all of God, who had sent 
him before them into Egypt to " preserve them a posterity in the 
earth, and to save their lives by a great deliverance." 

Jacob having received information of all that had been transacted, 
proceeded to break up his encampment, and to go down into 
Egypt as Joseph and Pharoah had invited him to do. Isaac had 
been dead ten years, and Jacob had attained the age of one hundred 
and thirty. Having arrived at Beer-sheba on his way thither, he 
offered sacrifices to the God of Isaac. On this occasion, God spake 
unto him, and said, " I am God, the God of thy father ; fear not to 
go down into Egypt : for I will there make of thee a great nation : 
I will go down with thee into Egypt ; and I will also surely bring 
thee up again : and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes." In 
this promise, Jacob was re-assured of a resurrection to life. The 
action of putting the hand upon the eyes represents death ; for this 
was one of the last offices of the nearest relations. Hence, to tell 
Jacob he should die, and yet that he should be brought up again, was 
telling him in effect that he should rise from the dead again to possess 
the land. 

Seventeen years having passed away after his arrival in Egypt, the 
time drew nigh that Jacob must die. This residence in the land of 
Ham had not at all diminished his attachment to the land of Canaan. 
When, therefore, he found his end approaching, he took an oath of 
Joseph, saying, " Bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt : but I will 
lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury 
me in their burying-place." And Joseph promised to do as he had 
said. But why was Jacob thus anxious ? Surely it could make no 
difference to him where he should crumble into diigt ! Nor would it, 
if Jacob had been a faithless Gentile ; or a religionist whose mind 
was perverted by Platonism. He would have cared nothing about 
his body ; all his solicitude would have been about his " immortal 
soul." But in Jacob's death-bed scene, he expressed no anxiety 
about " his soul ;" all his care was for his body after death, that it 
might be duly deposited in the cave of Machpelah, where Abraham, 
Isaac, Sarah, Rebekah, and Leah, were sleeping. 1 This was equally 
the case with Joseph ; for although Egypt had been the theatre of 
his glory, and he was venerated there as the saviour of the country, 
in which he had also lived ninety-three years, yet his last thoughts 
were upon the land of Canaan and the disposal of his bones. "I die," 
said he ; " and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of 
Egypt unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to 
Jacob;" and he took an oath of them, saying, " Ye shall carry up 
my bones from hence." Why, I ask, is all mankind's anxiety now 

' Gen. xlvii. 29—31 ; xlix. 29—33. 



248 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

about their " souls," and a heaven beyond the skies, when the friends 
of God, who had all their pilgrimage been the honored subjects of 
his fatherly care, manifested no such carefulness; but on the, contrary 
exacted oaths of their survivors expressive of their love for Canaan, 
and of their concern that their bodies should moulder there ? The 
reason is that the moderns have no faith in the promises of God. 
Neither protestants, nor papists, ff believe on God." They have a 
system of faith which bears no affinity to the religion of God ; and 
hence they hope for things which he has not promised ; and, conse- 
quently, the most pious of them die with a lie in their right hand. 
The faith and hope of protestantism are not the faith and hope of 
" the fathers," whom God has constituted the " heirs of the world." 
The last thoughts of these holy men were on "the exceeding great 
and precious promises " which are to be manifested in the land of 
Canaan ; where their posterity will yet become " a great and mighty 
nation " under Shiloh and his saints as the lords of Israel and the 
Gentiles. Seeing this, then, though afar off, they gave expression to 
their faith by giving commandment concerning their bodies ; as it is 
written, " by faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of ike 
departing of the children of Israel : and gave commandment con- 
cerning his bones." 1 He was, therefore, embalmed, and put into a 
coffin ; and at the end of one hundred and fifty-four years his bonee 
were carried out of Egypt by Moses ; they accompanied Israel in all 
their journeyings through the wilderness ; and were finally deposited 
by Joshua in the cave of Machpelah, where his fathers slept. 2 When 
professors believe the truth, they will have as much interest in 
Canaan, and the disposition of their bodies, expressive of their faith, 
as we find testified of Israel and Joseph by those who are high in 
the favor of their God. We must believe the promises concerning 
Canaan, if we would be immortal of body in the kingdom of God. 

JACOB'S PROPHECY OF THE LAST DAYS. 

Jacob being a hundred and forty-seven years old, and about to die, 
called his sons together to tell them " what should befall them in the 
last days?' From what has been already advanced on " the end of 
the world," the reader will understand to what period the prophecy 
of Jacob principally refers. But, lest any should have forgotten, I 
will repeat, that it relates to events which were to happen in the last 
days of the Hebrew commonwealth, under the constitution from 
Mount Sinai. It sketches the political fortunes of the twelve tribes 
which, with the blessing on Joseph's sons, it now constituted ; 
touches upon the peculiar features of the several portions of Canaan 
which should be allotted to them ; and reveals certain principal events 
in connexion with the tribes of Levi, Judah, and Joseph. 

It will not be necessary for me to do more than to point out these 
special incidents as bearing upon the kingdom of God. After 
Reuben, Simeon and Levi are conjoined in the prophecy. They 
had slain Hamor and Shechem, and all the males of their city. 

« Ileb. xi 2vJ. 2 Gen. 1. 24 ; Exod. xiii. 19 ; Josh. xxiv. 82. 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 249 

This circumstance is taken as a characteristic of their tribes in the 
last days. " Instruments of cruelty," said Jacob, " are in their 
habitations." And foreseeing the part they would play in relation to 
the Seed, he exclaimed, " O my soul, come not thou unto their secret j 1 
unto their assembly, 1 mine honor be not thou united." But why not 
Jacob? " For in their anger they slew a man, 2 and in their self-will 
they digged down a wall," that is, overthrew a city. 3 " Cursed be 
their anger for it was fierce : and their wrath, for it was cruel. " The 
verification of these things will easily be recognized in the history of 
the tribe of Levi at the era of the crucifixion. It was the priests who 
sought and at last accomplished the death of Jesus, to whom Jacob 
refers ; and to mark his sense of their conduct, he said " I will divide 
them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel." This was fulfilled in 
giving Levi no cantonal inheritance in the land, and in including 
Simeon's portion within the limits of the canton of Judah. 4 From 
this arrangement, Levi, Simeon, and Judah, became the tribes 
principally concerned in the transactions of the last days. 

Having spoken of the death of Christ by Levi and Simeon, he 
then proceeded to speak of things connected with Judah alone. Of 
this tribe he affirmed, 

1. That Judah should be the praise of all the tribes ; 

2. That it should subdue its enemies : 

3. That it should rule over all Israel ; 

4. That its sovereignty should be monarchical ; 

5. That Shiloh should arise out of it as a lawgiver ; 

6. That the gathering of the people should be to him ; 

7. That he should ride an ass accompanied by its foal ; 

8. That his garments should be dyed with the blood of his enemies ; 
and, 

9. That the fountains and rocks of the country should exuberate 
with grapes and pasture. 

Such are the points into which the members of Jacob's beautiful 
prophecy concerning the things of the kingdom, in connexion with 
Judah as the royal tribe, are resolvable when converted into literal, 
or unfigurative, speech. But, it is very clear from the past history of 
the tribe, that the prophecy is only partially accomplished. Judah is 
now " stooping down, and couching as an old lion ;" and in view ot 
his present prostration, Jacob inquired, "Who shall rouse him up?" 
Yes; who shall do it? Who shall start him to his feet again, that 
he may rend and tread down, and devour the enemies of Jerusalem ? 
Who but the Shiloh, whose goodly horse in the battle Judah is 
appointed to be? 5 

Two appearances of the Shiloh are indicated by Jacob ; first, at 
the departure of the sceptre from Judah ; and secondly, at the attain- 
ment of the tribe to the dignity of giving laws to the gathered people. 
The sceptre departed from Judah at the appearing of Jesus ; but 
neither Jesus, nor the tribe, have promulgated a code of laws to 
Israel or the Gentiles. Moses was a lawgiver, not of Judah, but of 

Vialvt. L 2. ; Jlatt xxvi. 14. 2 Matt. xxvi. 57, 59. 3 Gen. xxxiv. 25—29. < Josh. xix. 1, 9. 
* Zech. x. 3—5 ; xii. 6 : xiv. 14. 



250 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

Levi ; but when Shiloh comes as the lawgiver of Judah, then " the 
law shall pro forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from 
Jerusalem." 1 

The blessing on Judah contains in it the hope of Israel. It shows 
what views Jacob had of the promises made to him, and his fathers. 
His faith was of things substantial and definable. He looked for a 
kingdom and an empire, whose royal domain should be the land of 
Canaan, and especially that part of it allotted to Judah ; 2 and whose 
imperial ruler should be the Giver of Peace, descended from his loins 
in the line of Judah. The Spirit of God in Jacob marked him out 
to wield the sceptre and to give laws to the world, possessing the gate 
of his enemies, and blessing all the nations of the earth. With 
especial reference to the last days, Jacob saw the sceptre depart from 
Judah. This is implied by the saying, that it should " not depart 
until Shiloh came," which is as much as to say, when Christ appears 
it shall depart ; which is in strict accordance with the facts in the case. 

Having blessed Judah in the terms recorded in scripture, 3 he passed 
over Zebulun, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher, and Naphtali, with a brief 
notice, and then dwelt with emphasis upon Joseph. He described in 
general terms the fertility of the cantons of Ephraim and Manasseh, 
and invocated blessings of every kind upon his posterity. Recalling 
Joseph's history in the past as indicative of his descendants' in the 
future, he predicted that they would be sorely grieved by their enemies, 
and separated from the other tribes. Nevertheless their bow, though 
unstrung, should abide in strength, and they should be made strong 
again " by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob, who should help 
them," and bless them above what their progenitors enjoyed before 
they were carried away into captivity. He saw that they would be 
a royal tribe, and that at some period of their nationality, " the ever- 
lasting hills " unto their utmost bound, should bow to his sceptre, 
who is destined to rule them. 4 

But in the blessing of Joseph, Jacob gave a very remarkable 
intimation concerning the Shiloh. He styles him " the shepherd and 
stone of Israel" 5 In his blessing on Judah, he foretold liis descent 
from him ; but in the blessing of Joseph, he declares he is from the 
God of Jacob ; and (being thus spoken of in connexion with Joseph) 
after the parable of his history. In other words, that the Seed should 
be both son of Judah and Son of God ; and that his relation to the 
tribes of Israel should be after the representation of Joseph's to his 
brethren. "The archers should sorely grieve him, and shoot at him, 
and hate him ; but his bow should abide in strength, and his arms be 
made strong by the God of his fathers, who should help him ; and 
cause all blessings to rest upon his crown, who should be long separated 
from his brethren." 

SUMMARY OF THE FAITH AT JOSEPH'S DEATH. 

After the death of Joseph, which occurred two hundred and seventy* 
six years after the confirmation of the covenant concerning Christ, 

i Isaiah 11. 8. * Ezek. zlviii. 8—22. 3 Gen. xlix. 8—12. * Hab. iii. 3—16. * Isaiah, xxviii. 14. 



THE THINGS OP THE KINGDOM OP GOD. 251 

Levi and his sons Kohath, Amram, and Moses, may be regarded as 
the more especial conservators of the faith with which God is pleased. 
Many of Jacob's family in the period which elapsed between the 
death of Joseph and their glorious exodus under Moses, had given 
themselves up to the service of Egypt's gods. 1 This, however, was 
not the case with all. Some still kept the promises of God before 
them ; and we find it testified of Moses when only forty years old, 
and before he fled from Egypt, that u he supposed that his brethren 
would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver 
them : but they understood not." 2 This was forty years before their 
deliverance, and one hundred and fourteen years after Joseplvs death. 
Seventy-four years after this event Moses was born to Amram the 
grandson of Levi. The supposition he entertained concerning his 
brethren's spiritual intelligence is an indication of his own ; for he 
evidently judged them by his own understanding of the divine promise. 
Although u he was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians," this 
did not divert him from the faith. He had been indoctrinated into 
this in his tender years by his parents. For, it is testified that " by 
faith they hid him three months, not being afraid of the king's com- 
mandments ;" 3 thus becoming heirs of the righteousness which is by 
faith of the promises. This testimony to their faith shows that, 
however delinquent others might be, " the faith," the one faith of the 
gospel, dwelt in them. They instilled this faith into Moses, on the 
fleshly table of whose heart it was so indelibly inscribed, that not all 
the blandishments of the court of Egypt could efface it. The result 
of the parental instruction he had received was that " by faith when 
he came to years he refused to be called the son of Pharoah's 
daughter ; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, 
than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season ; esteeming the reproach 
of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt ; for he had 
respect to the recommence of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, 
not fearing; the wrath of the king;; for he endured, as seeing him who 
is invisible." 4 

From this testimony, then, we learn that the faith in Amram's 
family was concerning Christ, and the recompense of the reward; 
that this was so little sympathized with, that those who embraced it 
were subjected to reproach, and called upon to endure on account of 
it ; and that the things connected with Christ were esteemed by those 
who understood them, as of greater value than the most enlightened, 
wealthy, and powerful of kingdoms, possessed in all its glory. Now, 
as the faith of Amram's family is the " faith without which it is 
impossible to please God" in any age, it will be of advantage to us 
to have as distinct a view of it as possible. Omitting, then, the 
general principles of religion, stated on pages 148 and 149 of this 
work, in which all the faithful were instructed ; I shall present in this 
place a summary of the things, which were " all the salvation, and all 
the desire" of Abraham's family; though for a long time " God 
made it not to grow." I shall begin the enumeration with the most 
elementary principle, and ascend to the more complex in the 

' Josh, xxiv 14. 3 Acts vii. 25. 3 Heb. xi. 7, 23. * Heb. xi. 24—27. 



252 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

order of their development in the promises of God. They believed, 
then, 

1. That a son of Eve would take away the sin and evil of the 
world ; 

2. That until the sin-power should be subdued, there would be 
perpetual strife between his adherents, and the partizans of sin ; 

3. That In this war the Son of the woman and his allies would 
suffer much adversity, and be temporarily overcome j but afterwards, 
conquer all their foes ; 

4. That Eve's son would descend from Abraham in the line of 
Isaac, Jacob, and Judah ; 

5. That Abraham's descendants in the line of Jacob would become 
" a great and mighty nation ;" and that when this came to pass, 
Abraham's name would be great in all the earth ; 

G. That all nations should be blessed, in a social, ecclesiastical, and 
civil, sense, in Abraham and his Seed, whom I shall hereafter term 
Christ : 

7. That this personage, the hope of Abraham's family, should 
possess the gate of his enemies ; that is, gain the victory over them: 

8. That Christ should possess the land of Canaan from the Eu- 
phrates to the Nile ; that he should possess it 4< for ever," and 
therefore be immortal : 

9. That Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, should possess Canaan with 
Christ for ever : 

10. That Abraham was the constitutional father of nations ; and 
with his sons, namely, with Christ and his brethren, the u heir of 
the world ;" which was memorialized by the change of his name from 
Abram to Abraham : 

11. That kings would descend from Abraham in the line of Judah, 
&c. ; and that, therefore, the twelve tribes would constitute a kingdom 
in the land of Canaan; of which Judah would be the royal tribe : 

12. That through Judah, as the lion of Israel, their enemies should 
be subdued : 

13. That " the Shepherd and Stone of Israel " would be a Son of 
Judah and Son of God ; and that he would be the Lawgiver and 
King of all nations to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills : 

14. That Christ would be slain by the tribe of Levi after the 
parable of Isaac : 

15. That as Christ and Abraham are to inherit the land of Canaan 
for ever, they would rise from the dead to possess it ; and that the 
same thin^ must occur in the case of all others who should inherit 
with them : 

16. That after his resurrection and exaltation to power and dominion, 
ten tribes of Christ's brethren after the flesh would go down into 
Egypt a second time ; and meeting them there, make himself known 
to them ; receive their humble and sincere submission ; and we may 
add, like another Moses and Joshua in one person, lead them out of 
Egypt and plant them in the land of Canaan : 

17. That to share in this consummation would be the reward of a 
righteousness counted to those who believed the things promised : 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 253 

18. That every one to whom this righteousness was reckoned must 
be a circumcised person, or otherwise be cut off from his people ; 
and that circumcision was the token of the covenant of promise, and 
the seal of the righteousness by faith. 

In the exposition of the things of the kingdom, as unfolded in 
"the promises made of God to the fathers," the following points 
liave been fairly established : 

1. That the territory of the kingdom of Shiloh is not beyond the 
skies, but all the land of Canaan from the Euphrates to the Nile; 
and from the Gulph of Persia and Red Sea to the Mediterranean ; 

2. That the twelve tribes of Israel are the natural born subjects of 
the kingdom ; 

3. That Christ in the line of Judah is its King ; 

4. That those of like faith and disposition with Abraham, and who 
walk in the steps of his faith, are the joint inheritors with its king; 
in other words, its aristocracy ; who will share in the glory, honor, 
power, and blessedness, of the kingdom for ever : and, 

5. That all nations will be subject to this kingdom, and constitute 
its empire. 

These five points, however, do not comprehend all the things con- 
cerning the kingdom of God. Shiloh, or the Anointed One of God, 
was promised in the line of Judah; but the question remained open 
from Jacob's decease for many centuries after, as to the particular 
family of the tribe of Judah he was to descend from. Besides this, 
there is nothing said respecting the constitution, laws, and ecclesias- 
tical institutions, of the kingdom. It will, therefore, be necessary for 
us to look into these things, that we may fully comprehend the system 
of the world to be established by the God of heaven, when all other 
dominions shall have passed away. 

It may facilitate a clear and distinct conception of the contents of 
this chapter by bringing the dates quoted into a tabular form ; I 
shall, therefore, conclude this part of my subject by presenting the 
reader with the following 

aft« e Floodi CHRONOLOGY OF THE AGE BEFORE THE LAW. 

2 Shem begat Arphaxad, and lived afterwards 500 years. 

292 Terah aged ?0; and Abrara born. 

350 Noah died ; Abram 58 years. 

367 Abram leaves Haran, aged 75. 

377 The promise concerning Christ confirmed on the 14th day of Abib at 

even ; Abram 85. 

378 Ishmael born. 

391 Circumcision instituted ; Abraham circumcises all his males. 

392 Isaac born ; Abraham 100 years. Sojourns in the Philistines' land. 

427 Terah dies aged 205; Abraham 135 : leaves Philistia after a residence 

there of 35 years. 
429 Sarah dies at Hebron, aged 127. 

432 j Isaac marries Rebecca; Abram 140. 

452 I Esau and Jacob born ; Isaac 60. 

467 j Abram dies, aged 175 ; Jacob 15 years. 

492 I Esau marries, aged 40. 

502 ! Shem, or Melchizedec, disappears. Jacob 50; Isaac 110, 



254 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD, 

523 



543 

560 
572 

582 

599 
653 
727 
767 
807 



Jacob leaves Isaac ; sees the Vision of the Ladder : arrives at Laban't, 

aged 7 1 . 
Joseph born. Jacob leaves Laban. having served him 20 years, aged 91. 

Isaac 151. 
Joseph sold into Egypt, aged 17. Jacob 108 years. 
Isaac dies, aged 180. Jacob 120. 
Second year of the great famine. Jacob 130 ; removes into Egypt m y 

Joseph 39 years. 
Jacob dies, aged 147. Joseph, aged 56. 

Joseph dies, aged 1 10 years. From confirmation of covenant 276 years. 
Moses born. Aaron 3 years old. 
Moses flies from Egypt. 
The Israelites return from Egypt 430 years from the confirmation of the 

covenant. Moses 80 years. 



CHAPTER IV. 

State of Egypt and Israel before the exodus- The time of the promises arrives — 
Call of Moses — God's everlasting memorial — Moses is sent to Israel — He is 
accepted as a ruler and deliverer — He declares glad tidings to them, but they 
refuse to listen — The Exodus — Israel baptized into Moses —The song of victory— 
They are fed with angel's food — The Lord's passover — How to be fulfilled in the 
kingdom of God — The Lord's supper— 'I he Twelve Tribes constituted the kingdom 
of God— The gospel preached to Israel— They reject it— Of the Rest— The Royal 
House of the kingdom— The sure mercies of David — The kingdom and throne of 
David — David's kingdom also God's kingdom under its first constitution.— Chron- 
ology to the captivity. 



During the one hundred and fifty-four years that elapsed between 
the death of Joseph and the returning of the Israelites from Egypt, 
they multiplied so much as to excite the apprehensions of the Egyptians. 
" Behold," said Pharoah, " the people of the children of Israel are 
more and mightier than we : come on, let us deal wisely with them, 
lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that when there falleth out 
any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so 
get them up out of the land." From this it would seem that the idea 
prevailed in Pharoah 's court, that the Israelites contemplated a 
wholesale emigration to some other country. His policy, however, 
was to prevent it, by maintaining the numerical superiority of the 
Egyptians, by destroying their male children in the birth, and 
exhausting them by oppressive toil. But what can the policy of 
kings effect when they undertake to combat the purposes of God ? 
The cup of Egypt's iniquity was well-nigh running over. They had 
not retained God in their thoughts, being wholly given up to the 
basest superstition and idolatry. They had forgotten their obligation 
to God, who had saved their nation by the hand of Joseph ; whose 
posterity they had enslaved, and cruelly destroyed. What then 
remained, but that God should judge them ? That he, the Lord of 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 255 

all the earth, should step in between the profane tyrant, and those 
whom he purposed to be his people, and give to Egypt according to 
its works ? Israel's four hundred years of affliction were accomplished. 
They had served the oppressor long enough ; and the time had at length 
arrived, when the nation which had reduced them to servitude should 
be judged, and themselves remunerated for their past sufferings and 
services, by the spoil of their adversaries. This was a jnst and 
equitable decree ; the illustration of which is yet to be exhibited on a 
grander scale, " when God shall set his hand again A second time 
to recover the remnant of his people which shall be left, from Assyria, 
and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Khush, and from Elam, 
and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. 
And when he shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea, 
(the Red Sea;) and with his mighty wind shall shake his hand 
over the river (Nile,) and shall smite it in the seven streams, and 
make men (Israel) go over dry shod. And there shall be a highway, 
for the remnant of his people, which shall be left from Assyria; like 
as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of 
Egypt." 1 I quote this passage here by way of a hint to the reader, 
that if he would understand how Jehovah will arbitrate between Israel 
and the existing nations when he grafts them in again, he must give 
himself to know the particulars of their deliverance under Moses : 
for the exodus under him is the type, or representation, of their future 
exodus under the Lord of Hosts. 

But, spiritually dark as were the Egyptians with all their wisdom, 
the Israelites could boast of little more light than they. The relative 
condition of these two people was very similar to what it is now in 
regard to the Jews and papal nations among whom they are scattered. 
The Jews have a vague idea of the promise made to Abraham, and 
therefore cherish the hope of restoration to Canaan ; but of the name 
of God they are as ignorant as the generation to w'hom Moses was 
sent. " Who is the Lord," said Pharoab,, " that I should let Israel 
go? I know not who the Lord God of Israel is." This is the 
predicament of existing nations. They are called by the name of 
Christ, but as to God's character, they are as ignorant of it as of his 
person. As to Israel of " the fourth generation," we have seen that 
w they understood not" when Moses supposed they would have 
recognized in him their deliverer ; and, when God was about to send 
him for that very purpose forty years after, Moses inquired, what he 
should say unto them when the elders of Israel should say to him 
•' What is Ids name?" — The name of him whom he styled the God 
of their fathers. - Thus, without understanding of the promises, 
ignorant of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and serving the 
gods of Egypt, they differed only from the Egyptians in being the 
oppressed instead of the oppressor, and " beloved for the fathers' sake" 
— a type of their present condition, preparatory to their everlasting 
emancipation from the tyranny of as ignorant, but more brutal, 
nations, than themselves. 

Such was the benighted condition into which God's people Israel 

' Isaiah x v 15, IB. ' Exod. iii. 13, 16. 



256 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

Jiad fallen " when the time of the promises (the end of the four 
hundred years) drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham. " 
But though Israel had forgotten them, God had not. They were 
overwhelmed and absorbed in their personal sufferings, which elicited 
a cry of great distress. This was the crisis of their fate. " Their 
cry came up to God by reason of the bondage. And God heard 
their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, 
with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of 
Israel, and had respect unto theiiu" 

He sent an angel to deliver them. Moses was tending the flock of 
Jethro, his father-in-law, in the vicinity of Horeb. Seeing a bush on 
fire yet not consumed, he drew near to take a closer view of it. As 
he approached, the angel addressed him in behalf of the Lord, saying, 
" I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of 
Isaac, and the God of Jacob. I have surely seen the affliction of my 
people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their 
taskmasters ; for J know their sorrow : and I am come down to 
deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up 
out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing 
with milk and honey ; unto the place of the Canaan ites, &c. Come 
now, therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharoah,.that thou mayest 
bring forth my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt." 1 Thus, 
Moses whom forty years before they refused, saying, "Who made 
thee a ruler and a judge ? the same did God send to be a ruler and a 
deliverer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush." 2 

Moses being thus called of God, was first sent to the elders of 
Israel to make proclamation to them of the good news of deliverance 
from Egypt, and of national independence in the land promised to 
their fathers. Moses was not only called and sent, but he was also 
equipped for the work ; and prepared to prove that he was Jehovah's 
ambassador to them and Pharoah. The Lord knew how incredulous 
they would reasonably be of the validity of Moses' pretensions to the 
high office of his plenipotentiary. They had refused Moses forty 
years before when he was in favor at the court of Egypt ; it was not 
likely, therefore, that they would accept him as a returned exile, 
Hence, something more was wanting than Moses' bare assertion that 
he was the ambassador of God. He was, therefore, endued with 
divine power by the exercise of which his claim to their acceptance 
might be attested. His staff could be turned into a serpent ; his hand 
could become leprous as snow by putting it into his bosom ; and 
water of the Nile spilled upon the ground converted into blood. By 
these three signs given him to perform as his credentials he was 
assured by the Lord they would recognize him. He was to execute 
them in their presence " that they might believe that the Lord God 
of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the 
God of Jacob, had appeared unto him. And I will be with thy 
mouth," said God, " and teach thee what thou shalt say." " I have 
made thee a god to Pharoah, and Aaron thy brother shall be thy 
prophet." 

1 Exod. >*. 2, &--10. 'Actsvii. 35. 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 257 

Having received his appointment after this manner, he was com-' 
manded to go and introduce himself to the elders of Israel in his 
new capacity. He was ordered to say to them, " The Lord God of 
your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God 
of Jacob, hath sent me unto you : this is my name for ever, and this 
is my memorial unto all generations. This, the Lord God, hath 
appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that 
which is done to you in Egypt : and I have said, I will bring ^ou up 
out of the affliction in Egypt 1 into the land of the Canaanites, &c. ; 
into a land flowing with milk and honey." 2 

In obedience to the voice of God, Moses presented himself before 
the elders of Israel, accompanied by his prophet. He announced 
himself as the messenger of God, and laid before them his " memo- 
rial unto all generations" As I have shown on page 208, this 
memorial, which is God's name for ever, reveals the resurrection of 
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the last of whom had then been dead 
two hundred and eight years. This was an important announcement, 
and amounted to this, " I, Moses, am sent to you by the God of your 
fathers, who are to rise again." This was a startling declaration for 
a fugitive from Egyptian vengeance, and a Midianitish shepherd to 
make to a whole people. I am " called and sent " of him, who is 
the God of the living, and hath appeared unto me, to inform you 
that he hath come down to deliver you by my hand from your 
grievous bondage in this country of the Nile. This was as astound- 
ing a pretension as that of the " ministers " and " clergy " of this 
time, who also claim to be " called of God as Aaron was," and to be 
sent with the word of the Lord to the people as his ambassadors ! 
The important difference, however, in the case is, that God attested 
the truth of Moses' pretensions, but does not confirm theirs. Clerical 
and ministerial ambassadorship rests upon their own word, and is pre- 
dicated upon a feeling which no one can perceive but themselves. It 
is assertion without proof; and until they can adduce credentials 
divinely attested as in all other cases of real appointments in scrip- 
ture, if they are not set down at once as impostors (which would be 
quite justifiable after waiting for credentials many centuries) man- 
kind are at all events under no obligation to attend to the word they 
profess to have received. 

When Moses received his commission, he objected to go to Israel, for, 
said he, " they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for 
they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee." It was then 
the Lord empowered him to work the first sign ; and if that did not 
convince them, then the second; but if still incredulous, afterwards 
the third ; which would be irresistible. Now, when through Aaron 
he had spoken all the words commanded, " he did the signs in the 
sight of the people." If they had believed his simple word,, the 
signs would not have been given ; but as they were all given, it is 
evident that they did not believe his bare assertion. When they saw 
the wonders, however, they came to the conclusion of Nicodemus in 
relation to " the prophet like unto Moses," that he was a person 

1 Gen. xr. 13, 14, 16. 5 Exod.' iii. 15-17. 

B 



333 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

" sent from God, for no man could do the miracles he did except 
God were with him f' 1 as it is written, " and he did the signs in the 
iiight of the people, and they believed, that the Lofvl had visited the 
children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction." 2 

Being accepted as a ruler and a deliverer, he and his prophet 
accompanied by the elders of Israel, presented themselves before 
Pharoah. Moses announced himself as the bearer of a message to 
him, from the Lord God of Israel, saving, " Let my people go, that 
they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness." This demand 
astonished Pharoah exceedingly. "Who," said he, "is the Lord 
that I should obey his voice to let Israel go ? I know not the Lord, 
neither will I let Israel go. Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, 
hinder the people from their works ? get you to your burdens." The 
only effect of this application was to double their toil, and to cause 
the officers of Israel to be beaten, because they were not successful in 
extorting from their brethren what was impossible. They remon- 
strated with the tyrant, but to no other purpose than to be spurned 
from his presence as idle fellows. They perceived that they were in 
an evil and desperate case ; and as their condition was worse since 
Moses came among them, they looked on him as the cause of all 
the aggravated evil that had befallen them. Moses, indeed, could 
not deny it. He had nothing to say in extenuation ; but in his 
extremity returned to expostulate with the Lord. " Wherefore," said 
lie, " Lord, hast thou so evil-entreated this people ? Why is it that 
thou hast sent me ? For since I came to Pharoah to speak in thy 
name, he hath done evil to this people ; neither hast thou delivered 
thy people at all." 3 

After this manner, being made to feel the need of deliverance, 
Moses was sent again to them with glad tidings of a sure and speedy 
redemption. In communicating it to Moses, the Lord prefaced the 
message with a reiteration of the memorial. " I am the Lord ;" 
said he, " and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto 
Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name Jehovah 
( the fidfiller of the promises) 41 was I not known unto them. And 
I have also established my covenant with them, to (jive them the land 
of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were 
strangers. And I have also heard the groaning of the children of 
Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage : and I have remem- 
bered my covenant" 

Such was the preamble. The God of Abraham was about to begin 
the fulfilment of the covenant in that part of it which related to " the 
fourth generation " of the natural seed. He was therefore in relation 
to Israel about to become known as the performer of his word. 
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, knew him as Almighty ; but as they 
had died without receiving the promises covenanted, they knew him 
not as Jehovah : yet as Jehovah is now the name of Abraham's God 
unto all generations, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, will know him as 
set forth in his memorial, when they rise from the dead. He will 
then be Jehovah to them. 

' John iii. 2. ' Exod. ir. 81. 3 F, xo d. v. 22. * Isaiah xlii, 8, 0. 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOO. 250 

Because, then, after nearly 430 years from its confirmation, God 
had remembered his covenant, he said to Moses, " Say unto the 
children of Israel, I am Jehovah, and I will bring you out from 
under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their 
bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with 
great judgments : and I mill take you to me for a people, and I will 
be to you a God : and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God, 
who bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 
And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did 
swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob ; and I will give 
it you for a heritage : I am Jehovah." According to all these words 
Moses spoke to them " but they hearkened not to him, for anguish 
of spirit, and for cruel bondage." 

After this the judgments of God fell fast and heavy upon Pharoah 
and the Egyptians, until at length they rose and thrust the Israelites 
out of Egypt. The record of this event is thus given by Moses. 
" Now the returning (vemuseb) of the children of Israel who dwelt 
in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. And it came to pass, at 
the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the self-same day it 
came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of 
Egypt. It is a night to be much observed unto the Lord, for bringing 
them out from the land of Egypt : this is that night of the Lord to 
be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations." 2 The 
period here indicated was 430 years from the confirmation of the 
covenant now remembered of God, which occurred on the 14th of 
Abib, or Nisan, at even ; the month when the Jewish year and 
calendar begin, 4 answering to the latter half of March and the 
former part of April. 

The terrible display of power by the hand of Moses, while it filled 
the minds of the Egyptians with dismay, convinced Israel at length 
that God was able and willing to perform what he had covenanted to 
do. He had said to Pharoah, " Israel is my son even my first-born ; 
therefore, let my son go, that he may serve me ; and if thou refuse to 
let him go, behold, I will slay thy son even thy first-born." This 
threat had at length been carried into execution ; and " there was not 
a house in Egypt where there was not one dead." First-born for 
first-born : if Pharoah destroyed God's first-born, God would retaliate 
upon him, and not spare his. Let the reader mark the style here. 
" Israel is my son my first-born." What does this import ? Did 
not God tell Abraham, that he had constituted him a father of many 
nations? Then these nations are in effect his sons; for a father 
implies sons. But of this family of nation-sons which of them is the 
first-born son ? The testimony before us declares that Israel is. The 
nation of Israel then is the heir, and nearest to the throne in the 
empire of the world. But it is now, and will be for a few more 
years, as it was in the days of Pharoah, Israel God's first-born is 
scattered, oppressed, and destroyed, by the tyrants of the nations, and 
u subject of reproach among the people. But the sentence of God 
is still unrepealed ; and at a coming crisis, he says, to the Autocrat, 

' Exod, xii. 40—42. ? Exod. xii. 2. 

r2 



2G0 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

" Let my son, Israel, go that he may serve me ; and if thou refuse, I 
will slay thy son, even thy first-born." When the events in Euypt 
shall be re-enacted in the nineteenth century, " a nation," even Israel, 
" shall be born in a day ; " and other nations will soon after follow 
him in a birth into Christ and the political family of Abraham. When 
this comes to pass, all the nations of the earth will be Abraham's sons 
and rejoice in Israel their elder brother. 

Bu$ when Israel was brought to the birth, and stood trembling on 
the shore of the Red Sea, they were about to be introduced into 
Moses. They had been begotten of God as his national first-born ; 
but were they to be born of water into the everlasting possession of 
Canaan ; or into a possession in which they were only " strangers and 
sojourners" in the land ? That would depend upon the question ol 
their national baptism into Moses, or into Christ : if into Moses, they 
could only inherit according to his law ; but if into Christ, then they 
would obtain an everlasting national possession of the land, of which 
no other nation, or confederacy of nations, could deprive them. But 
they could not be nationally baptized into Christ, for Christ had not 
come ; and until he came, and as the mediatorial testator of the Will, 
suffered death, neither individual nor nation could have everlasting 
inheritance in the land ; for the Will, or covenant, was of no force 
while the testator was undeceased. 

But there is an end of all question in the case. The apostle in 
reference to the passage of the Red Sea, writes, •' I would not that ye 
should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, 
and all passed through the sea ; and were all baptized into Moses 
(ctv tov Mwo-jjv) in the cloud and in the sea 1 (ez> t>j i/^Xjj and tv t>j 
8a\ao-<ni,)" This was the national baptism. An entire obscuration of 
a whole nation from the view of all beholders on either shore. It 
was buried, not in the sea only, but in the cloud and in the sea — a 
cloud, which was black with darkness to the Egyptians, but light to 
Israel between the icy walls of the sea. But, though buried, the 
nation rose again to a new life upon the opposite shore, leaving all 
their tyrant taskmasters, and all their bondage behind them, washed 
away by the returning waters of the deep. First, then, believing in 
Moses and in the Lord, they were baptized into Moses, and so " saved 
that day out of the hands of the Egyptians" who were washed up 
" dead upon the sea-shore." 2 

In celebration of this great deliverance, they sang the song of Moses. 
What a thrilling incident was this ! Six hundred thousand men, 
besides women, children, and a mixed multitude, encamped upon the 
shore, and singing the song of the Lord's victory over their enemies ! 
After magnifying the gloriousness of his power, and the great sal- 
vation with which he had delivered them, they rejoiced in the future 
that awaited their nation, when it should realize the possession of the 
land of Canaan under the sceptre of Shiloh " for ever and ever." 
u , Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine 
inheritance ; in the place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to 
dwell in ; in the sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established. 
The Lord shall reign for ever and ever." 3 

J ! Cor. x. 1, 8. • Exod. sir. 26-81. > Exod. xv. 17, lf». 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 261 

Let the reader peruse the song of Moses, and bear in mind that it 
is not only a magnification of the past, but also prophetic of as grea*, 
or a greater deliverance, of the nation under Shiloh. Under Moses 
they were saved by the angel of God; 1 but when the time of the 
second exodus from Egypt arrives, they will be saved by the Lamb 
of God, whose prowess will be applauded by God's harpists of the 
crystal sea, who will sing the new song of Moses, the servant of 
God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, " Great and marvellous 
are thy works, Lord God Almighty ; just and true are thy ways, 
thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify 
thy name ? for thou only art holy ; for all nations shall come and 
worship before thee ; for thy judgments are made manifest." 2 The 
song of Moses, we have seen, celebrated the overthrow of the 
Egyptians; the song of the Lamb, " the prophet like unto Moses/' 
will celebrate his future triumph over all the nations in his deliver- 
ance of the twelve tribes from their tyranny ; a redemption, which 
will result in the submission of all nations to his sovereignty, as pre- 
dicted in the song. And, it is to be observed, that the Lamb's victory 
being the accomplishment of the prophecy in Moses' song, and a 
victory gained on a similar occasion, and in connexion with the same 
nation, the Lamb's song is styled in the apocalypse," " the song of 
Moses and the song of the Lamb." 

The generations of Israel's nation are reckoned from Abraham. 
Between seven of them there is a remarkable relationship in the way 
of type and antitype. These are the fourth, the fifth, the fourteenth, 
the fifteenth, the thirty-second, the forty-second, and, possibly, the 
rising generation of the present time. The events of the fourth 
occurred under Moses ; of the fifth, under Joshua ; of the four- 
teenth, under David ; of the fifteenth, under Solomon ; of the thirty- 
second, under Zorobabel ; of the forty-second, under Christ; and of 
the last, the substance of all that have preceded it, and as yet in the 
undeveloped, but not unrevealed, future. The six generations present 
so many pictures, as it were, of what will be transacted in the seventh. 
But want of space forbids more than an allusion to the fact. 
Referring to the remarkable incidents of Jewish history the apostle 
says, " all these things happened unto them for types (tvttoi, 
representative things): and they are written for our instruction 
upon whom the ends of the ages (jra tz\i\ tw» aiwvwv) have come." 

Having been baptized into Moses they looked to him for meat and 
drink. The angel had brought them out by his hand into a waste 
and howling wilderness, under a promise to give them a land flowing 
with milk and honey. But after three days the nation found itself 
without water; and though soon after they found some, it was so 
bitter they could not drink it. And they murmured against Moses. 
The Lord heard them and healed the waters. A month after their 
departure from Egypt, their provision failed them. Again, they 
murmured against Moses and his prophet ; and turned back in their 
heartslo the laud of their affliction. But God heard them, and gave 
them bread and meat to the full, and continued to them this sustenance 

Exod. xiv. 19. 2 Eev. xiv. 1—5 : xv. 2—4. 



262 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

for forty years, until they came to tne borders of the land of Canaan. 
One would have supposed that after giving them bread from heaven 
all their murmurings would have ceased. But when they came to 
Rephidim and found no water they murmured again, and were ready 
to stone Moses, and tempted God, saying, " Is the Lord among us, 
or not ? " Though the manna still fell, the rebellious hearted Israelites 
questioned the presence of the Lord among them ! Though tempted, 
he still bore with them ; but yet was angry with Moses for their sakes. 
He commanded him to go to the rock in Horeb on the top of which 
he would take his stand. He was then to smite it, and to speak to 
the rock before their eyes, that it might give forth water. Having 
convened them, he addressed them, saying, " Hear now, ye rebels ; 
must we fetch you water out of this rock ? And he smote the rock 
twice ; and the water came out abundantly, and they drank." * Moses 
in his indignation smote the rock once too often. In this he exceeded 
his commission ; therefore the Lord said, " Because ye believed me 
not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye 
shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given 
them." 

These incidents had a secondary import which is found in the 
antitypes, of the forty-second generation. Thousands of Israelites 
and Gentiles believed the gospel of the kingdom, and were baptized 
into Christ. As a whole they constituted " a holy nation" — a nation 
within the nation — which fed upon the true bread of heaven, and 
drank of the water of life by faith in the things of Christ. But they 
were and arc still strangers and sojourners in the world, which to 
them is like the wilderness of Arabia to Israel of the fourth generation. 
But, there have been multitudes in Christ as there were in Moses, 
who did run well but were afterwards hindred. They turned back in 
their hearts to Egypt, loving the present world, and not having faith 
enough to get the mastery over it. Now, the apostle likens such to 
those of the fourth generation who were murmurers, and faithless, 
and whose carcasses fell in the wilderness, from which they will never 
arise to enter the land of Israel under Shiloh. **■ They did all eat the 
same spiritual meat," says he ; u and did all drink the same spiritual 
drink ; for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them : and 
that rock was (or represented) Christ. But with many of them 
God was not well pleased ; for they were overthrown in the wilder- 
ness." Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should 
not lust after evil things, as they also lusted." 2 Their faith was 
addressed through sensible objects ; ours through written testimony. 
But for the most part professors look not beyond " the things which 
are seen and temporal." Whether in Moses, or 'professedly in Christ, 
they are mere creatures of sensation, who walk by sight and not by 
faith. . Let us, reader, not be of this number ; but let us rejoice in 
hope of the promise made to the fathers, though at present it seemeth 
not to the eye of sense to grow. " If a man eat of this bread (the 
spiritual) he shall live in the Age (cis tov aiuva) ; " and, drinking of 
the blood of Christ, which is the spiritual drink represented by Horeb's 

i Numb. xx. 10, IS, 24 ; Exod. xvii. 6. ' 1 Cot. x. ft— 6. 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 283 

stream, the Rock of Israel will raise him up at the last day to life in 
the age to come (^s X>«>n v atwviov.') But, if after their example, we 
love the present world, though we may have believed and obeyed the 
truth in the beginning, we shall come under the sentence of exclusion 
from " the rest which remains for the people of God." 

THE LORD'S PASSOVER. 

On the tenth day of Abib, the first month of the year, being 430 
from the confirmation of the covenant, the Israelites were commanded 
to put up a lamb for each house, and to kill it upon the fourteenth 
day in the evening. They were to take its blood and to sprinkle it 
upon the door-posts of their houses, and to eat its flesh that same 
night, roast with fire, with unleavened bread, and bitter herbs. Nothing 
of it was to be left till morning. They were also to eat it in haste, 
as if about to hurry off upon a journey. The meaning of this was, 
that God was about to destroy the first-born of every family in Egypt, 
which would cause them to be thrust out of Egypt with great haste ; 
and that when the destroying angel should see the blood on the door- 
posts, he would pass over that house and not destroy the first-born 
there. For this cause the lamb was termed the Lord's Passover. * 
Not a bone of it was to be broken. No stranger, foreigner, hired 
person, or uncircumcised individual, was to eat of it ; a servant, 
however, bought with the money of an Israelite, provided he were 
circumcised, was permitted to partake of it. 

But this institution represented more than the facts upon which it 
was founded. It pointed to events of the forty-second, and present (?) 
generations of Israel. The apostle styles Christ the believer's pass- 
over, who was sacrificed for them f and exhorts them to " keep the 
feast with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." Jesus was 
the Lamb of the feast whom God had provided. Not a bone of him 
was broken. His blood was sprinkled, not upon the door-posts of 
houses, but upon the doors of believers' hearts by faith in the blood 
of sprinkling. None can eat his flesh, if they would, but those 
who are circumcised in heart ; for to eat his flesh is to digest, and 
make a part of our mental selves, the truth concerning the kingdom 
of God and Jesus Christ. This is the spiritual food upon which the 
believer's spiritual existence is sustained. As Jehovah's first-born 
son was saved by the blood of the passover lamb in Egypt, so also is 
the believer in the kingdom saved by the blood of Christ ; so that 
when the day of retribution comes, and the first-born of all the 
nations, " who know not God and obey not the gospel," are destroyed, 
the angel of death will pass over him, and he shall not be harmed. 

But while the passover hath this spiritual signification, it also 
represents facts, or events, which will be made manifest in connexion 
with Israel at the appearing of their king in glory. This is evident, 
from the saying of Christ while partaking of the Passover with his 
apostles, the future sovereigns of the tribes. " With desire," said lie, 
. u I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer : for I 

' Exod. xii. 2 1 Cor. v. 7. 



264 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GxJl). 

say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it he fulfilled in 
fife kingdom of God;" and "I will not drink of the fruit of the 
vine, until the kingdom of God shall come." And of this kingdom, 
hg said, " I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed 
unto me ; that ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and 
sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel" 1 From this, then, 
it is clear, that the passover was prophetic of what is to be fulfilled 
in the kingdom of God. Has that kingdom come ? If it have, as 
some very erroneously affirm, then Christ has eaten another passover, 
and has again drank of wine with his apostles ; for he said he would 
do so when the kingdom had come. But no man in his senses will 
affirm this. Another passover could not be celebrated till a ' year 
after ; so that Jesus could not eat it with his disciples before that. 
Where js the testimony to his eating it with them then ? There is 
none ; but much of a contrary nature every way. The gracious 
declaration of Jesus is, / will eat of this passover, and drink of the 
fruit of the vine, with you in the kingdom of God when it shall be 
come. He did not say, when you shall go to the kingdom beyond the 
skies, but when the kingdom shall come, which he had taught them 
to pray for. 

It is perfectly ridiculous to talk about the kingdom having come, 
and of the apostles being on their thrones. To affirm this proves 
that the professor is totally ignorant of the gospel. A pretty sitting 
upon thrones it was, when they were all arraigned at the bar, 
condemned, imprisoned, and scourged, for preaching the gospel of 
the kingdom in the name of Jesus ! What havoc the apostasy has 
made with the truth ! The gospel preaches no such stuff as this. It 
treats of a kingdom which the God of heaven shall set up in Judea ; 
which shall never be removed from thence ; in which the whole 
twelve tribes shall rejoice; which the saints of all ages shall possess ; 
and which shall rule over all. Its elements at present are all scattered. 
It is not a matter of fact; but a thing of hope, in which only they 
rejoice who believe the promises made of God to the fathers. 

The passover must be restored before it can be eaten of by Christ 
and his apostles in the kingdom of God. This is one of the things 
to be re-established at " the restitution of all things ; " and the law 
of its restoration is in the following words : " In the first month, in 
the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the passover, a fast 
of seven days ; unleavened bread shall be eaten. And upon that 
day shall (Messiah) the Prince prepare for himself and for all the 
people of the land a bullock for a sin-offering." 2 This was spoken 
by the prophet to Israel of the fourteenth generation concerning the 
observance of the passover by Israel of the generation contemporary 
with the " restoration of the kingdom again to Israel " when it 
should be constituted under the Prince. Moses' law said all about 
the observance ot the passover before the Prince appeared; but as 
Moses ceased to be the lawgiver when he came, a New Code is 
revealed through Ezekiel which will become the law of the kingdom 
under Shiloh. When Ezekiel's passover is observed at Jerusalem, 

Luke xxii. 15, 16, 13, 29, 30; Matt, xix 28. ' Ezek. xlv. 21, 22. 



THE THINGS OF THE K.vN'GDOM OF GOD. 265 

Christ will be there, the apostles also, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 
and all the prophets, and many from the four winds of heaven, — all 
of them the first-born redeemed from the earth, saved by the sprinkled 
blood of the true paschal lamb of God, and who shall find themselves 
in Canaan as inheritors of its attributes ; celebrating their own 
redemption, and the overthrow of all their enemies by the Lord 
Jesus at his revelation in flaming fire, attended by the angels of his 
power. 

The bread and wine of " the Lord's Supper" are the remains of the 
passover, which are to be shared by the circumcised of heart and ears, 
until Christ comes in power and great glory. I am informed by a Jew, 
that when they eat the passover they eat no lamb, but have a dry 
bone of one on a dish ; and that all who celebrate take hold of the lip 
of the dish, and unitedly offer a petition. This is remarkable. They 
have slain the true lamb, which believers of the gospel feed upon ; 
while only a dry bone remains to them, strikingly illustrative of 
themselves. Faith in the Lamb of God supplies the absence of the 
lamb in the Lord's supper. The broken bread and poured out wine, 
memorialize his sacrifice for believers ; and the testimony, " this do 
in remembrance of me until I come" keeps alive the hope of his 
appearing in the kingdom of God. When hope becomes a reality, 
the supper will give place to the passover ; for when Christ is come, 
the memorial of his coming ceases to be prophetic of the event. 

THE TWELVE TRIBES CONSTITUTED THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

The Israelites being born into national existence under Moses as a 
ruler and a deliverer, he led them from the Red Sea to the foot of 
Mount Sinai to meet with God. On their arrival there, the Lord 
commanded Moses to say to them, " Ye have seen what I did to the 
Egyptians ; now, therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep 
my covenant, then ye shall Is a peculiar treasure unto me above all 
people : for all the earth is mine : and ye shall be unto me a king- 
dom of priests and a holy nation" 1 This was an offer on the part of 
God to become their King, predicated upon what he had done for 
them. If they closed in with the proposal, they would henceforth be 
a kingdom. Hitherto they had been a crowd of slaves subject to 
the will of the kings of Egypt. But he proposed to organize them ; 
to give them a constitution, religion, and laws ; to appoint them a 
government ; to exalt them by his instructions to the freedom, inde- 
pendence, and moral excellence, which are attainable only by the 
influence of divine truth ; to make them the envy and admiration of 
surrounding nations : to make them, in short, his kingdom, and his 
beloved nation. This was a proposal rich with blessings. Ail God 
would require of them was obedience, and adhesion to the covenant 
he had made with their fathers. The terms of the compact were 
highly eligible. No nation had received such a liberal and honorable 
proposal before, or since. Would they accept it, and abide by it ? 
Moses was sent to see. 

ExodL xix. 3-*<J. 



266 TI1E THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

Having arrived at the encampment, he convened the elders of tho 
people, and laid the proposition before them. Having consulted the 
nation, they returned answer to Moses, saying, " All that the Lord 
hath spoken we will do." Upon this, Moses returned the words of 
the people to the Lord. In this transaction a formal agreement was 
entered into between Israel and the Lord. In the word they sent 
back by Moses,- they accepted the Lord as their King, and became 
his subjects, or " the children of his kingdom." The relation of 
God to the tribes as their king is undoubted ; for when they demanded 
a visible king like other nations, the Lord told Samuel that they had 
not rejected him but the Lord himself, whose representative among 
them he was. By this political compact, Abraham's natural seed 
became " the kingdom of God." It was the first, and the only 
kingdom, he has ever had among the sons of men. He will yet have 
other kingdoms. All the kingdoms of the world will become his ; 
and will yet acknowledge the king he has provided to rule over them. 1 
But even then, the kingdom founded at the beginning of the ages, 
the kingdom of Israel, will be his " peculiar treasure above them all." 
If, then, we would understand " the things of the kingdom of God," 
we must never lose sight of Israel in connexion with the kingdom. 
Indeed without them there is no kingdom of God ; and to affirm the 
contrary is to believe in a kingdom over which there is no nation to 
rule ! No misconduct of Israel can dissolve the covenant entered 
into between them and God. The rebellion of a nation does not do 
away with the rights of the king. If they set his laws and govern- 
ment at defiance it becomes a question of might. If the rebellion 
triumph the king is dethroned ; but if the rights of the throne 
prevail, the rebel nation has no alternative but to submit to whatever 
terms the conqueror may prescribe. This is precisely the state of 
things between God and Israel. The tribes have rebelled against 
him. He has anointed Jesus of Nazareth to be King of the Jews. 
But they say, no good thing ever came out of Nazareth, and they 
will not have him for their king. They have no other king, they 
say, but Caesar ; hence, they crucified Jesus, and have served Caesar 
ever since. But has God surrendered his rights? Will he allow 
himself to be dethroned by rebels, and his Viceroy to be treated as a 
malefactor ? All who deny the restoration of Israel in effect say, 
" they have rebelled successfully against God and his Christ." But 
this cannot be. God will restore them " for his name's sake." He 
will plant them in Canaan ; settle them in the land according to their 
old estates ; and place Jesus upon David's throne in triumph ; for he 
has sworn that " at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, and 
every tongue confess that he is Lord to the glory of God the Father." 2 
The great rebellion will then be suppressed ; God will have recovered 
his rights ; his kingdom will be re-established ; and Israel will 
thenceforth " obey his voice, and keep his covenant, " as they 
originally agreed to do. 

The nation being adopted as the kingdom of God, and having 
received its constitution three dajv afterwards, which was fifty days 

'Rev. xi. is, Phil. 9— 11. 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 267 

from its redemption as Jehovah's first-born of nations ; and also 
having received its religion, and civil laws, as related in Exodus and 
Leviticus — all things were prepared for transferring the tribes from 
the wilderness to the land of Canaan. Moses had announced to 
them this consummation while groaning in Egypt. But they heark- 
ened not for anguish of spirit. When, however, they were " baptized 
into Moses in the cloud and in the sea/' they came to believe on the 
Lord and in him as his servant. But their probation in the wilder- 
ness was too much for their faith. They were continually turning 
back in their hearts to Egypt. The time, however, had now arrived 
to put this fourth generation to a final test. Twelve principal men, 
one for each tribe, were sent from the wilderness in Paran to view 
the land of Canaan, and to bring back a report to the people. After 
an absence of forty days they returned. They said the land was all 
that could be desired, and flowing, indeed, with milk and honey ; 
but as to being able to take possession of the country that was im- 
possible ; for the inhabitants were gigantic and strong, living in well- 
fortified cities, and could not be overcome by Israel, who were but as 
grasshoppers when compared to them. But Caleb and Joshua, who 
believed on God, testified to the contrary ; and encouraged the 
people to go up at once, and possess it ; for they were well able to 
overcome it. " The land," said they, " which we passed through to 
search it, is an exceeding good land. If the Lord delight in us, 
then he will bring us into this land, and give it us ; a land which 
floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the Lord, 
neither fear ye the people of the land ; for they are bread for us ; 
their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us : fear 
them not." 1 

Now, when all the people heard the evil report, they cried and 
wept all night. They murmured against Moses, and wished they 
had died in Egypt, or the wilderness, before they had been brought 
into this extremity. They proposed, at length, to make a captain, 
and march back into Egypt. As for Caleb and Joshua they bid 
stone them to death. 

The reader's attention is particularly requested to this passage of 
Jewish history. The apostle in commenting upon these incidents, 
says that the gospel was preached to them on this occasion ; and that 
the land spied out was connected with God's rest. His words are 
these — "They could not enter into his rest because of unbelief:" 
then addressing his brethren, he says, " Let us therefore fear, lest a 
promise being left of entering into his rest, any of you should seem 
to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached as well as 
unto them ; but the word preached did not profit them, not being 
mixed with faith in them that heard it." 2 In the context of this 
passage the apostle had been speaking of Moses and Christ, the 
former, as a faithful servant in another's house ; and the latter as a 
son over his own house : whose house the believers in the things 
spoken of the land are, " if they hold fast the confidence and 
rejoicing of the hope firm unte the end." He then introduces the 

1 Numb. xiii. xir. Heb. iii. 18. 19 ; iv. 1, 2. 



268 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

case of the fourth generation as a warning; of the fatal consequences 
of letting go the hope of the promise. He quotes from a scripture 
written in the fourteenth generation, in which the Holy Spirit repeats 
the sentence upon them, and upon all like them, who harden their 
hearts, saying, " They shall not enter into my rest." 1 What rest is 
here spoken of? The peaceable possession and enjoyment of the 
land so highly commended by Caleb. They did not enter in, but were 
turned back towards the Red Sea, and wandered in the wilderness 
for forty years until the carcasses of all the rebels above twenty years 
old fell to their lowest estate. But the fifth generation obtained the 
rest under Joshua when they possessed the land. No, says the apostle, 
they did not ; " for if Joshua had given them rest, then would God 
not have spoken afterward by David of another day." The rest 
which Joshua gave the nation was only transitory. When he and 
his associates of the fifth generation died, the nations which God had 
not driven out, were as thorns in their sides which gave them but 
little rest in after years. " There remaineth then," saith he, " a rest 
for the people of God ;" even Canaan in the age to come, under 
Shiloh, the Prince of Peace, whose "rest shall be glorious," 2 and 
undisturbed by war's alarms. 

Now this rest under Shiloh was preached unto them. The pos- 
session under Joshua was the first step to the full accomplishment of 
the covenant. Had the nation continued to obey the Lord's voice 
and to keep the covenant, and when Christ came received him asking 
on the proclamation of the gospel, they would doubtless have been in 
Canaan until now ; and he might have come ere this, and be now 
reigning in Jerusalem, King of the Jews and Lord of the nations. 
But had this been the case, we Gentiles would have had no part in 
the kingdom. We might attain to eternal life at the end of the reign ; 
but in the glory of the kingdom, and in the administration of its 
affairs, as heirs of the world with Abraham and his seed, we should 
have had no part ; for it was the unbelief of the forty-second gene- 
ration of Israel that became the riches of the Gentiles. 

The fourth generation " could not enter in because of unbelief." 
Neither can we unless we also believe what they rejected; for the 
same gospel that was preached to them, was preached by the apostles 
to the forty second generation ; but cannot be said to be preached to 
us of this century. I am endeavouring, however, to set it before the 
people in this book; though I feel it a difficult work, seeing that 
men's minds are so mystified, and preoccupied, with the jargon of the 
schools. God's rest in Canaan — by which is not meant that all his 
saints will be living there, though all that abide there will be a 
righteous people ; the things which belong to Canaan will overspread 
the world ; and where there are nations to be governed there will 
there be saints to rule — but this rest, I say, is the great theme of the 
gospel whether preached by Moses, by Jesus, or by the apostles. 
The rest and the kingdom are but different terms, though substantially 
the same. They will both be of Canaan, and are both the subject of 
the promise made of God to Abraham and his seed for ever. 

' Psalm xcv. 7. ' Psalm cxxxii. 11- -18. 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

THE ROYAL HOUSE OF THE KINGDOM. 

The covenant made with Abraham promised an immortal inheritor 
of Canaan ; and in Jacob's last prophecy it was plainly revealed 
that he should be its King, and should descend from Judah. By 
this, it was understood that Judah would be the royal tribe ; but it 
was not known what family of Judah he would be born of. This 
was a matter which remained in abeyance until the fourteenth gene- 
ration. The nation had been long settled in Canaan. For four 
hundred and fifty years the laws of the kingdom had been administered 
by judges, until at length the people demanded a king who should go 
in and out before them, as among the neighbor nations. This happened 
in the days of Samuel the prophet, who laid their request before the 
Lord. Though he was displeased at the demand, as it was in effect 
a rejection of him, he nevertheless granted their request, and gave 
them Saul, of the tribe of Benjamin, until another man upon whom 
he had set his heart, should have been sufficiently trained in the 
school of adversity to take his place. This was David, the son of 
Jesse, and of the tribe of Judah. God ordered Samuel to anoint 
him king over Israel. By this act David became the Lord's anointed, 
or Christ ; and when he ascended the throne, ruled the nation as 
Jehovah's king. 

In the former part of his reign he was much engaged in war, which 
was at length terminated by the Lord giving him rest from all his 
enemies. At this crisis of his history, it came into his heart to build 
a magnificent temple for the ark and cherubim of glory. Though 
the Lord highly approved of the feeling which prompted the resolution, 
he forbid him carrying it into effect. The work was too momentous 
to be undertaken by one in David's case. Jehovah being the real 
king of Israel did not permit a national temple to be erected in his 
kingdom by a subordinate ruler without his primary direction. 
David had shed much blood which was urged as an objection to his 
doing more than collecting the materials ; which his son should put 
together after his decease. 

At this time the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, *' Go 
and tell David my servant, thus saith the Lord, thou shalt not build 
me a house to dwell in. But the Lord telleth thee that he will make 
thee a house" What follows is an explanation of what is meant by 
this. " And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy 
fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of 
thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house 
for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. 
I will be ins Father, and he shall be my son. Even in suffering 
for iniquity I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the 
stripes due to the children of Adam. But my mercy shall not depart 
away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. 
And thy house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before 
thee: thy throne shall be established for ever." 1 

These promises are styled " an everlasting covenant even the sure 

'• 2 Sam vii. 11—16. 



270 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

mercies of David" 1 There can be no doubt to whom they refer, 
for the apostle has applied them to Christ. 2 In his last words, David 
thus expresses himself concerning them, " The God of Israel spake 
to me, saying, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear 
of God. And he (the Just One) shall be as the light of the morning 
when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender 
grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain. Although 
my house be not so with God ; yet he hath made with me an ever- 
lasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure ; for this is all my 
salvation and all my desire, although he make it not to grow." 3 

This covenant of the throne and kingdom was David's desire and 
salvation, because it promised him a resurrection to eternal life, in the 
assurance that his house, kingdom, and throne, with God's son and 
his son, one person, sitting upon it, should be established in his 
presence for ever. " I have made a covenant with my chosen, I 
have sworn unto David my servant, saying, Thy seed will I establish 
for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. He shall cry 
unto me, Thou art my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation. 
Also I will make him my first-born, higher than the kings of the 
earth. My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing which has 
gone out of my lips. Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will 
not lie unto David. His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne 
as the sun before me. It shall be established for ever as the moon, 
and as a faithful witness in heaven.'' 4 

After these testimonies there requires no further proof that David's 
family was constituted by a solemn covenant the Royal House of 
God's Kingdom ; and that that one of David's posterity whom God 
should acknowledge to be his son, should be its everlasting king. 
The claims of Jesus to be David's Seed and God's Son have been 
fully established by his resurrection from the dead ; which is an 
assurance to all men, both Jews and Gentiles, that God hath appointed 
him, as the Holy one of Israel their king; to rule the world in 
righteousness, and to establish truth and equity among the nations; 
as God sware to Moses, saying, " Truly as I live, all the earth shall 
he filled with the glory of the Lord." Let us then proceed now to 
some further inquiries about 

THE KINGDOM AND THRONE OF DAVID. 

There are, as we have seen, two everlasting covenants of promise 
upon which the kingdom of God is based — the one made with Abra- 
ham, and the other, with David. The former gives the land of 
Canaan to their /-Seed forever; the latter, the kingdom and throne 
established upon it, as long as the moon endures. They are called 
David's because his family alone can possess the kingdom. David's 
kingdom, however, is also " the kingdom of God and of his Anointed" 
or Christ ; for, whether David, or David's Son of the twenty-eighth 
generation after him, sit upon the throne, they are both the Lord's 
Anointed, and ruling as his representatives in his kingdom. The 

Isaiah Iv. 3 ; Acts xiii. 34. *Heb.i.3. » 2 Sam. xxiii. 3— 5. « Psalm lxxxix. 3, 4, 19-28, 84-*7 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 271 

great difference between the two in regard to the anointing is, that 
David the First was anointed with holy material oil by the hand of 
Samuel ; whereas Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit at his 
emergence from the Jordan direct from the excellent glory. Hence, 
Jesus, who is David the second as well as the second Adam, is 
Jehovah's Christ, or Anointed King, in a higher sense than " his 
father David." The Lord Christ and king David are associated in 
several prophecies ; because the everlasting covenant of promise made 
with the latter, declares its mercies to them both at one and the same 
time. David is to witness the fulfilment of its promises ; for the 
record is, u Thy house and thy kingdom shall be established forever" 
— but when ? " Before thee." From this it is evident, the ever- 
lasting establishment of his kingdom cannot take place under the 
circumstances which have obtained since the death of David until 
this present time ; because, if it is to exist perpetually " before, " or, 
in the presence of, David, David must be raised from the dead 
immortal ; for, if mortal, he could not behold his throne occupied by 
Christ for ever. But " David is both dead and buried, and his 
sepulchre," said Peter, "is with us until this day" — " He is not 
ascended into the heavens/' x If then, he " is dead," and not ff gone 
to heaven," as the phrase is, he is alive in no sense; and consequently 
the covenant promises are not fulfilled. David must be alive when 
they are accomplished. Christ, his divine son, has been manifested 
and glorified ; and God has recognized him as his son ; but in no 
other particular has the covenant been fulfilled: for he has inherited 
neither the land of Canaan, nor the kingdom and throne of David 
once upon it. 

But where are the kingdom and throne of David? "In heaven, 
beyond the skies, where Christ is at the right hand of God ; and 
where precious souls go to when they die." Such is the answer given 
by gentile theology ! Need we wonder at Jews having such a 
contempt for what is called " Christianity," when they hear its 
professors gravely affirm such absurd nonsense as this ? Have 
Canaan, Jerusalem, and the twelve tribes, been translated beyond the 
skies ? O no, say they, these things remain, but then they are types 
of things which exist where Jesus is ! Alas, what sorry stuff, what 
shilly-shally twaddle is this, to come out of the mouths of "great 
and good and pious men.'" It is admitted that David and Solomon's 
reigns were typical, or representative, of Christ's reign; not beyond 
the skies, however ; but upon their throne and in their kingdom upon 
the veritable land promised to Abraham. But, inquires one, if not 
beyond the skies, where are the kingdom and throne of David? In 
answer to this question, reader mark it well — at present they exist no 
where. They once existed, and while they had a being they were the 
kingdom and throne of God among men. He has kingdoms and 
thrones in other orbs ; but we have nothing to do with them ; and 
have no more right, had we the power, to go and take possession 
of them either as " souls," or bodies, than the angels have to come 
and seize upon all the thrones and kingdoms of earth, which belong 

lActsii. 29, 84. 



272 THE THINGS OP THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

to Christ and his brethren by inheritance. But let us leave to the 
owls and bats the idols of the schools, the worshipful phantasmata of 
the apostasy, and let us turn to the enlightening testimony of God. 

The scripture foreseeing that God would temporarily abolish the 
kingdom of David, saith in view of the covenant, " But thou hast 
cast off and abhorred, thou hast been wroth with thine anointed. 
Thou hast made void the covenant of thy servant : thou hast profaned 
his crown by casting it to the ground. Thou hast broken down all 
his hedges ; thou hast brought his strong holds to ruin. All that 
pass by the way spoil him : he is a reproach to his neighbours. Thou 
hast made his glory to cease, and cast his throne down to the ground. 
The days of his youth has thou shortened : thou hast covered him 
with shame." 1 This is descriptive of the state of the kingdom of 
God and of David for twenty-four centuries past. The crown and 
throne are in the dust, and the territory and people a bye-word among 
the nations. Instead of the covenant being fulfilled, if the present 
state of things were final, it would be " void" and the promise of 
God have failed. In view, then, of the promises and things as they 
are, the scripture inquires, " Mow long, Lord ? Wilt thou hide thy- 
self for ever? Lord, where are thy former loving- kindnesses which 
thou swearest unto David in thy truth?'' 2 Yes j where are they ? 
In promise still. 

In the face of facts, what are we to say to the testimony, that 
" David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the House 
of Israeli^ Thus saith the Lord, " If ye can break my covenant 
of the day, that there should not be day in its season ; then may also 
my covenant be broken with David, my servant, that he should not 
have a son to reign upon his throne." 3 What shall we say to this ? 
There has been no son of David reigning upon his throne since the 
dethronement of Zedekiah by Nebuchadnezzar five hundred and 
ninety-five years before the birth of Christ. But it is not a question 
of uninterrupted succession ; but of the everlasting occupation of the 
throne according to the covenant. When the time comes for this to 
be fulfilled, noted by David's resurrection, from thenceforth shall his 
son fill the throne of Israel's kingdom for ever. But what saith the 
scripture ? 

Just before the fall of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, the sins of 
Judah and its king had attained the full. Zedekiah was then on the 
throne wearing the crown of David. Ezekiel was commanded to 
say to him, " Thou profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is 
come, when iniquity shall have an end, thus saith the Lord God, 
' Remove the^ diadem, and take off the crown : this (Zedekiah) shall 
not be the same (son of David spoken of in the covenant) : exalt 
him that is low (even Jesus), and abase him that is high,'" — that is, 
dethrone Zedekiah. But, then, what is to become of the kingdom of 
David ? Hear the Lord by his prophet — " I will overturn, overturn, 
overturn it : and it shall be no more until he (Shiloh) shall come 
whose right it is: and I will give it him." 4 According to this word 
so has it been to the letter. The king's eyes were put out ; Zion was 

' Psalm lxxilx. 38—45. '■ verse 46 — 49. J Jer. xxxiii. 17. 20. 21. « Ezek. xxi. 25—27. 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 273 

proughed as a field ; and not a tribe remained in the land. After 
seventy years captivity, there was a restoration under Ezra, Zerub- 
babol, Joshua, and Nehemiah. But until B. C. 165, the Israelites 
in Canaan were not even a kingdom ; but a subject province of the 
Persian monarchy, and afterwards of the Macedonian. About the 
year named they became a kingdom again ; but not David's. The 
throne was that of the Asmoneans, who were of the tribe of Levi. 
Their dynasty was superseded by the Roman senate, which set up 
Herod's family instead. He was an Idumean, and reigned till after 
the birth of Jesus, whom he sought to put to death. He was sue 
ceeded by Archelaus, who was deposed by the Romans, and Judea 
reduced into the form of a province under a procurator; thus veri- 
fying the prophecy of Jacob, that the sceptre should depart from 
Judah when Shiloh came : and so it came to pass when God called 
his son Jesus out -of Egypt. From that time to this, there has been 
no kingdom, or throne of Israel, in Canaan. The Hebrew common- 
wealth was broken up by the Romans about thirty years, or so, after 
the crucifixion ; and it hath been, and will be, no more, until the Lord 
Jesus come, who is the King of the Jews, and whose sole right it is 
to reign. 

In reference to this good time, which is near at hand, it is written, 
" Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will perform that good 
thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house 
of Judah. In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch 
of Righteousness to grow up unto David ; and he shall execute judg- 
ment and righteousness in the land. In those days shall Judah be 
saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely; and this is the name whereby 
he shall be called the Lord our Righteousness in her." 1 The king- 
dom of God, then, has existed once, but, for the present, exists '*'. no 
more." It existed from the fourth to the twenty-eighth generation, 
a period of rather more than a thousand years ; but it has been 
extinct upwards of two thousand four hundred years, — a time so long, 
that the promise of its restoration has become a mere fable, or specu- 
lation, in the estimation of the world ! But the believer in the gospel 
of this kingdom rejoices in the sure and certain hope of its restitution,^ 
and glorious and triumphant existence for a thousand years, at the 
expiration of which kingdoms on earth will be no more, but God 
will be all and in all. The reader, then, will perceive from this expo- 
sition, that the kingdom of God must be studied in the two periods 
of its existence — in the thousand years of the past, and in the thou- 
sand years of the Age to come. As God's kingdom of the past, it 
is the grandest theme of ancient, or modern, history ; but as his king- 
dom of the future, it is the sublime topic of " the truth as it is in 
Jesus." In the past, it existed under the law of Moses, which made 
nothing perfect. Its kings and priests were frail, and mortal men, 
who held the kingdom for a brief space, and then u left it to other 
people." Its subjects were rebellious; and its realm invaded and 
wasted by the hands of ruthless and barbarous foes. But how chanced 
arill be its fortunes in Messiah's age ! The same land and nation will 

* Jer, xxiii. 5, 6; xxxiii. 14—16; Ezek. xlviii. 35. Isaiah xxiv. 23. 

S 



274 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 



then be under the law of the New Covenant which goes forth from 
Zion. All things will be perfected. Its king and pontiff will be the 
king immortal from the right hand of God. The rulers of the tribes 
will be the fishermen of Galilee, " shining as the stars for ever and 
ever." The chiefs of its cities ; and the possessors of its glory, its 
honors, and its dominion, will be the holy ones of God, " equal to 
the angels," and subject unto death no more. In short, " the saints 
of the Most High will take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for 
ever, even for ever and ever," 1 never receding from their position, nor 
leaving it to be possessed by others. 

CHRONOLOGY TO THE CAPTIVITY. 



From the creation to Noah's flood 

From the flood to the night of the exodus 
from Egypt, as on page 253 

Sojourn of the Israelites in the wilderness . . 

From the invasion of Canaan to the allot- 
ment of the land among the tribes 

From the division of the land to the death 
of Joshua 

All the days of the elders who overlived 
Joshua 

Israel does evil, and falls into idolatry, 
serving Haalim and the groves 

From being sold into the hand of Cushan to 
the acknowledgment of Samuel by Israel, 
as a prophet of the Lord, in the twentieth 
year of Eli 

Whole number of years from the invasion 
of Canaan to the acknowledgment of 
Samuel by Israel. 

From Samuel, as prophet, to the death of 
Eli and capture of the ark 

From capture of the ark by the Philistines, 
(including the reigns of Saul, and his son 
Ishbosheth, the last of whom ruled two 
years) to the death of Ishbosheth and the 
removal of the ark to Jerusalem by David 

Whole number of years from Samuel as 
prophet to the end of Saul's dynasty . . 

From Ishbosheth's death, in the second year 
of David's reign in Hebron, to the death 
of David 

To the foundation of the temple in the 
fourth of Solomon's reign 

From fourth of Solomon to the apostasy of 
Rehoboam 

From Rehoboam and Israel's apostasy to 
the destruction of the temple by the 
Chaldeans, and the overturning of the 
kingdom of David in the eleventh of 
Zedekiah 

Whole number of years from the foundation 
to the destruction of the temple 

Whole number of years from the creation to 
the casting down of David's throne, and 
destruction of the city by Nebuchad- 
nezzar 

» Dan. vii. 18 



11656 

807 
40 



25 
15 

7 

428 



20 



20 



480 



40 



390 



430 



3405 



Numb. xiv. 29, 53. 
Josh. xiv. 10, 15. 
Josh. xxiv. 29. 
Josh. xxiv. 31. 
Judg iii. 5 — 8. 

Acts xiii. 20. 

1 Kings vi. 1. 
1 Sam. iv. 18. 

1 Sam. vii. 2. 2 Sam vi. 2 
Acts xiii. 21 

1 Kings ii. 11. 

2 Chron. xi. 17 ; xii.2,5, 



Ezek. iv. 1—8. 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 275 



CHAPTER V. 

Israel unable to redeem themselves j and the nations equally powerless to their own 
regeneration— The reconstruction of the social fabric the work of Omnipotence 
by the hand of the Lord Jesus at his approaching manifestation— He will re- 
establish the kingdom and throne of David— The priesthood of 8hiloh— The 
Ezekiel temple to be built by Christ— Of the Name of Jesus— Of repentance, 
remission of sins, and eternal life— Death-bed and gaol repentance. 



By this time, I presume, the reader well understands what the Lord 
has promised, or covenanted, to do. Let him, then, in view of these 
'* exceeding great and precious promises,'' take a mental survey of 
Canaan, of Israel, and of the nations — of Canaan in its desolation, of 
Israel in their dispersion, and of the nations in the abyss of mortal 
ignorance, and of dark and cruel superstitions ; and prostrate under the 
iron heel of blood-stained and murderous tyrannies. This is truly a 
bottomless abyss from which neither Israel nor the Gentiles are able 
to extricate themselves. The strength of Israel has hid his face from 
them ; they are therefore powerless among the nations, and can neither 
" restore all things," nor return to their country. As for the pagan, 
papal, protestant, and mohammedan, peoples, their case is equally 
desperate with that of the Jews. They groan under the armed 
oppressor ; they sigh after " liberty, fraternity, and equality ; " they 
lono- for the regeneration of society ; but instead of looking to heaven 
for deliverance, they curse God and despise his laws ; and grasping 
the sword undertake the amelioration of society by deeds of blood ! 
Mankind have not yet learned that the world's redemption from all 
its evils is from God ; nor are they aware, such is the impenetrability 
of human ignorance, that they have neither virtue, knowledge, power, 
nor wisdom, enough, to deliver themselves from their miseries, and to 
re-constitute society to the promotion of their own happiness, and to 
the glory and honor of the Most High. There is no man, nor any 
combination of men, under the heavens, that is competent to the work 
of social regeneration. If individuals be unable to regenerate them- 
selves, which is unquestionable ; no association of persons however 
multitudinous, can renew the world, and make it what it ought to be. 
That it needs regeneration is self-evident to all the " sons of light ;" 
and that it cannot of itself compass that necessity is equally apparent 
to all, save those who are of the night. What then is the hope of 
the believer in the world's extremity. Let the «' testimony of God'' 
be our oracle ; and let him reveal to us the help he has provided, the 
deliverance in reserve. 

In the testimony a voice is heard addressing the nations in these 
words, saying, " Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, 
from far ; the Lord hath called me from the womb ; from, the bowels 
of my motVer hath he made mention of my name. He hath made 
my mouth like a sharp sword ; in the shadow of his hand hath he 

* 2 



276 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

hid me, and made me a polished shaft : and said unto me, thou art 
my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified" Need the reader 
be told who this great and mighty one is ? Whose name was 
mentioned by the Lord before his birth ? Hear the scripture — " And 
Gabriel said to Mary, behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and 
bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus ( Heb. Jehoshua, or 
Jehovah-tzidkenu, the Lord our righteousness) for he shall save his 
people from their sins. He shall be great, and shall be called the 
Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the 
throne of his father David : and he shall reign over the house of 
Jacob for ever ; and of his kingdom there shall be no end." 1 But 
he was born, and has departed, and is hid in the shadow of the Lord's 
hand ; and has neither received David's throne, nor does he reign 
over Israel, who, though born to rule over them, " curse their king and 
their God, and look upwards." 2 We shall see how this is. In the 
oracle quoted, the Lord Jesus, who makes proclamation to the isles of 
the Gentiles, announces himself as the Servant of Jehovah in whom 
he will be glorified. Now a servant implies work to be performed for, 
and in behalf of, another. What work, or service, then, has the Lord 
Jesus to execute for Jehovah ? " Behold the Lord will come with 
strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold his reward is 
with him, his work before him." 3 We want to know what this work 
is. Hear then what the word saith. " The Lord formed me from 
the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob again to him" But is 
the restoration of the tribes of Israel all he will have to do ? We 
shall find not ; for Jehovah says to him, " It is a light thing that 
thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to 
restore the desolation of Israel : I will also give thee for a light to 
the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation to the ends of the 
earth."" * The Lord Jesus, the servant of Jehovah, then, is in reserve 
at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens, for the purpose of a 
future manifestation, not to destroy the earth and to burn up the 
wicked, but to fulfil the covenants of promise ; in putting an end to 
the desolation of Canaan, restoring the tribes to their native land, 
re-establishing the commonwealth of Israel, enlightening the nations, 
regenerating society, filling the earth with the glory of the Lord, 
establishing his sovereignty in the world, and in rewarding the saints. 
All this is to be accomplished when the Lord comes. The God of 
the fathers will then remember the covenants which he began to fulfil 
when he called Israel out of Egypt under Moses; and when he called 
Jesus out of Egypt in the days of Archelaus. These were but 
earnests of the good things to come, in the manifestation of which 
the promises will be perfected in every jot and tittle of the word. 

This is the sense in which James understood the testimony of God. 
" Simeon," said he, "hath declared how God at the first did visit the 
Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.'" Then, in quoting 
the words of Amos, he continues, " After this I will return, and 
will build again the tabernacle of David which is fallen down ; and I 
will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up : that the residue 

1 Matt. i. 21 ; Luke i. 91—83. ' Isaiah viii. 21. ' Ismiah xJ. 10. « Isaiah x\ix. 1—3, 5, 6, 8. 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 277 



(Edom) might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles upon 
iv name is called, saith the Lord." * This was adduced as a, 



of men 
whom my 

quietus upon the Judaizers to prove the acceptance of Gentiles by 
the Lord as well as of Jews, and upon the same terms. But I have 
introduced it here to show the arrangement of things in relation to 
the work to be performed. We see that there is a certain labor to be 
finished, to wit, the taking out a people from among the nations for 
the Lord's name. By the time this is accomplished, the Lord will 
return. But what does the text before us say he returns for? To 
set up David's kingdom which is in ruins. But again, what ulterior 
purpose is to be effected through this restitution? The turning the 
Gentiles from their delusions to serve God according to the institutions 
of the Age to come. The people for the Lord's name are the saints 
or " heirs of the kingdom." Such an institution requires adminis- 
trators ; and as from its nature only righteous and immortal men can 
inherit it, it became necessary to call them out, first from Israel, and 
then from the nations, upon the principle of the obedience of faith. 
This is one reason why so many ages have elapsed from the promise 
of it to Abraham until now. If it had been possible to set it up in 
Abraham's time, where would have been the kings and priests to 
answer its requirements, seeing it is to rule over all nations? It would 
have been a kingdom without rulers. Hence, the gospel, or glad 
tidings, concerning it have been preached for the purpose of obtaining 
kings, priests, and princes of all ranks and degrees, for the kingdom, 
when the time comes for the God of heaven to establish it by the 
hand of his servant, the Lord Christ. If Jew or Gentile aspire to 
this glorious station in the Age to come, u the prize" is attainable 
on the simple condition of believing the things concerning the kingdom 
and the name of Jesus Christ, and of being baptized ; and thenceforth 
walking as becomes men, who are to be, not only the rulers, but the 
companions of Christ, and examples of the nations in righteousness, 
equity, and faith. The time, however, for collecting together the 
nobility of the kingdom is almost elapsed. It has been continuous 
with the desolation of Jerusalem. She was to be " trodden down of 
the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles should be fulfilled " 2 
These times are almost accomplished. Only a few more years remain, 
and then " the accepted time and day of salvation " will have passed. 
The door into the kingdom will be shut, and no more can obtain a 
right to enter in. Men who may survive the worse than Egyptian 
plagues coming upon them, may live in the future age in hope of 
immortality when the age has passed away ; but in the glory and 
honor of Shiloh's " everlasting dominion," they will have neither 
part nor lot in the matter. 

THE PRIESTHOOD OF SHILOH. 

In the everlasting covenant made with David, the son promised 
him, who is to sit upon his throne and to wear his crown for ever, is 
also set forth as a sacrificial victim ; as it is written, " In suffering 

' Acts xv. 14—17. ' Lime xxi. 24, 



278 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

for iniquity I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the 
stripes due to the children of Adam." So the passage is rendered 
by Adam Clarke. It is in strict accordance with the truth in the 
case ; and in agreement with the testimony, which says, " He hath 
borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows : yet we did esteem him 
stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for 
our transgressions, he was bruized for our iniquities : the chastise- 
ment of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are 
healed."* 

But, being a sacrifice for sin, who should be the priest in the case, 
and enter into the Most Holy with his blood to make atonement, or 
reconciliation, for his people ? Where there is a sacrifice there is also 
of necessity a priest. There were priests under the law of Moses, 
who went into the Most Holy with the blood of the slain beasts, 
and sprinkled it upon the lid of the ark called the propitiatory, or 
mercy-seat, upon which the cherubic faces looked. But the blood of 
David's Son was not to be sprinkled there. It was not to be carried 
into the Most Holy made with hands, either by himself, or by the 
high priest of the law ; and wherever its memorial was presented, 
it could only be exhibited by a high priest. The Son of David 
could not officiate as a priest on earth so long as the covenant from 
Sinai continued the law of the land ; because it permitted only the 
tribe of Levi to minister in holy things. He belonged to the tribe of 
Judah, " of which Moses said nothing concerning priesthood." He 
could not enter into the temple after his resurrection and present him- 
self before the Lord in its most holy place ; neither could the 
levitical high priest enter heaven with the memorial of Shiloh'g 
death. What, then, was to be done ? David's son must appear ia 
heaven in his own person, and as the high priest of a new law offc;* 
himself before God. 

But the covenant made with David, while it speaks of his ?on as 
a sacrifice, and, by implication, of his resurrection, and future occu- 
pation of his throne for ever ; says nothing about him as high 
priest of his kingdom. Hence, in order that he might enter his 
divine Father's presence as a high priest, and hereafter sit as a 
priest upon the throne of David's kingdom, " the word of the oath"* 
was given for the purpose. This was necessary ; for " no man taketh 
this honor upon himself, but he that is called of God as Aaron was." 
David's son was called to the high priesthood of the kingdom, as 
distinctly as Aaron was to the same honor under the Mosaic law. 
" He glorified not himself to be made a high priest ; but he that 
said unto him, Thou art my Son, to-day have I begotten thee ; saith 
also in another place, Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of 
Melchisedec." 3 

Here, then, are two orders of priesthood — the Order of Melchise- 
dec, and the Order of Aaron. Melchisedec's was contemporary with 
Abraham; Aaron's was not instituted until 430 years after the con- 
firmation of the covenant. Of Melchisedec the apostle could have 
eaid much more than he did say ; but he has said enough to give us 

• Isaiah Hii. 4. 5. » Heb. vii. 28. 3 Hcb. v. 4— C. Psalm ex. 4. 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOB. 270 

an idea of his order of priesthood. In this he was without prede- 
cessor, or successor, without sacerdotal genealogy, and without 
beginning of official days, or end of life : but, assimilated to the Son 
of God, abideth a priest continually ; of whom also it is testified that 
he liveth. 1 The Aaronic priesthood was the reverse of all this. Its 
priests were descended from Aaron, their mothers were of the tribe 
of Levi, their fathers in office before them, upon which they entered 
at thirty years, and vacated it at fifty. But the priesthood of Shiloh is 
not like this. His pedigree is royal, and not sacerdotal. He had no 
predecessor, nor will he ever vacate the office that another may 
take his place. 

It is probable that Shem was the personage to whom Abraham 
paid tithes on his return from the slaughter of the kings. Abraham 
died thirty-five years before Shem reached his five hundred and 
second year after the flood. At this date, Isaac was one hundred 
and ten, and Jacob fifty ; so that they were contemporary with Shem 
for these periods of their lives. There is no account of Shem's death 
in the scripture ; on the contrary, it is testified, as we have seen, that 
the person called Melchizedec still lives. Now, Melchizedec is a 
word expressive of the character of the person who bore it. It 
signifies king of righteousness, or righteous king. He was the 
greatest king in Canaan, and reigned in Salem, which signifies peace, 
and afterwards called Jerusalem ; so that this righteous king was 
King of Peace. Shem, king of righteousness, and king of peace, 
and priest of the Most High God, is the type, contemporary with 
the holder of the promises, of the Seed, or Christ, on the throne of 
the kingdom of God. 

The word of the oath, saying, " I have sworn, and will not repent, 
Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedec/ ' having 
changed the priesthood of the kingdom, '* there is made of necessity 
also a change of the law" 2 of the State. No revolution was more 
complete and radical than that necessitated by the substitution of the 
Melchizedec for the Aaronic priesthood of the commonwealth of 
Israel. Under the Mosaic code the regal and pontifical offices were 
divided, and held by two distinct orders of men. The regal was 
hereditary in the family of David, and the pontifical was hereditary 
in the family of Aaron ; but when the new code shall be promulged, 
that, namely, which is to "go forth from Zion " when Christ shall 
give peace to the world, and judge among the nations, the kingly 
and priestly offices will be united, and their functions exercised by 
one person, even Jesus, " who is King of Righteousness and King of 
Peace, and Priest of the Most High God," as Melchizedec was. 
Jesus the high priest will inherit the throne of David by virtue of 
the covenant made with him. If there had been no other oaths than 
that with Abraham, and this with David, David's son could not 
have been a priest upon his throne ; but the word of the oath coming 
in, the throne and pontificate of the kingdom become the right of 
Christ, the Lord. 

I Heb. vii. 3, 8. 2 Heb. vii. 12. 



280 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GODr 



SHILOH TO BUILD A TEMPLE. 

In the everlasting covenant made with David, it is declared of hh 
immortal son by the Lord, saying, " He shall build a house for my 
name.:' David wished to execute this great national work, but was 
forbidden. It was afterwards accomplished by Solomon, and in this 
he eminently typified the " greater than Solomon," who is to con- 
struct a similar edifice, only on a vastly more magnificent scale. 
This will appear from the following testimony. After Solomon's 
temple was laid in ruins, and while the Jews after their return from 
Babylon were erecting a new one upon the site of the old, the word 
of the Lord came to the prophet, saying, " Behold the man whose 
name is the Branch : and he shall grow up out of his place, and he 
shall build the temple of the Lord; even he shall build the temple of 
the Lord ; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon 
his throne ; and shall be a priest npo.n his throne. And they that 
are far off shall come and build in the temple of the Lord." 1 Let 
the reader turn to the texts below, and be will have no doubt as to 
the person styled the Branch. 2 The Melchizedec Son of David, 
then, is to build the third temple in Jerusalem to the name of 
Jehovah ; and as the Tyrian Gentiles aided Solomon to rear his edi- 
fice, so those who are far off from Jerusalem, where the pi*ophecy 
was delivered, are to co-operate in the erection of Shiloh's, which is 
.to be "a house of prayer for all people" 3 when the Lord shall "plant 
the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, 
Thou art my people." 4 If the reader wish to know more about the 
temple to be built by Shiloh in Jerusalem, he can consult Ezekiel. 5 
The description comes in between the battle of Armageddon in which 
Nebuchadnezzar's image is broken to pieces on the mountains of 
Israel, and the earth shining with the glory of the Lord. The first 
nine verses of the forty-third chapter show that the era of the temple 
described is when Shiloh " dwells in the midst of the children of 
Israel for ever, and his holy name they shall defile no more:' This 
is conclusive ; for ever since their exode from Egypt until the present 
time, they have incessantly defiled the Lord's name ; but the prophecy 
contemplates a period when they shall do it " no more." 

When the Lord Jesus shall sit upon the throne of his father David, 
as high priest of the nation, and has dedicated the temple to the 
Most High, what then ? " Many people shall go and say, Come ye, 
and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house (or 
temple) of the God of Jacob ; and he will teach us of his ways, and 
we will walk in his paths." 6 " The sons of the stranger, that join 
themselves to the Lord, to serve him, and to love the name of the 
Lord, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from 
polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant : even them will I bring 
to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer : 
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine 
altar." And " there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of 

» Zech. vi. 13, 19, IS. * Zech. M. 8 ; Isaiah xi. 1 ; Jer. xxiii. 5 ; xxxiii. 15. Rev. xxii. 16. 
3 Isaiah lvi. 7. * Isaiah li. 16. * EzoV xl., xlL, xlii. « Isaiah li. 3. 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOO. 281 

the Lord of hosts." 1 Want of space for the third part of this work 
will not permit me to enlarge here ; I must therefore leave these and 
many other testimonies of the same sort to the reflection of the 
reader, without any further comment, and pass on to a brief con- 
sideration of the things which concern 

THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST. 

If I have been successful in making a distinct impression upon the 
reader's mind as to the nature of " the kingdom of God and of his 
Christ ; " and that impression have originated within him a desire to 
know what he must do to inherit it, it remains now to direct his 
attention to the things of the name of Christ. This is a subject 
which would occupy very much space if all were to be said about it 
that would be profitable. I find myself, however, compelled to 
confine myself to a mere sketch, which the reader must more highly 
finish as the result of his own investigations. 

The name of Jesus Christ comprehends all that is aflirmable of 
him; and is therefore the summary of his character as a prophet, 
sacrifice, priest, and king. Hence, to understand his name we must 
know what is testified of him in the law, the prophets, the psalms, 
and the apostles. From the " Old Testament " we may become 
acquainted with the Shiloh's name. This is absolutely necessary ; 
for unless we understand what sort of a person Christ was to be, how 
can we, when we learn the name of Jesus as described by the apostles, 
be able to say that the name of Christ as set forth in the prophets, 
and the name of Jesus, are the name of one and the same person ? 
But by comparing the apostolic history with the testimony of prophecy, 
we can intelligently confess that " Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ 
the Son of the living God." This, then, is a first principle of the 
name of Jesus. Admit that he is the Shiloh, and all things predicted 
of the Shiloh are solely applicable to him. 

Now there are certain things affirmed of Jesus Christ, the belief 
of which are highly essential to the constituting of a believer an heir 
of the kingdom. These things have regard to Jesus as an offering 
for sin. He died, was buried, and rose again. These are facts. 
But what is the truth, meaning, or doctrine, of the facts ? " He was 
delivered for our offences and raised again for our justification;" 3 
that is, for the justification of those who believe the gospel of the 
kingdom. It is a great mistake to suppose that the belief in the 
sacrificial part of the name of Jesus Christ, is sufficient for salvation. 
Salvation in the kingdom is not promised to those who only believe 
that Jesus is Son of God, and died and rose again for sin. It is 
equally necessary to believe in the promises of the covenants ; not 
more so, but equally so : for if one believed the things of the kingdom, 
but rejected the sacrifice of Jesus, and his resurrection, he could not 
be saved. The gospel must be taken as a whole, and not cut up into 
pieces, and one or two selected which suit the taste, and the rest set 
aside as unimportant and non-essential. Without the sacrificial 

» Zech. xiv. 16—21 ; Isaiai .\n. 20, 21, 23. ' Rom. iv. 25 ; Isaiah liii. 5, 10. 



232 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

ingredient of the name, there would be no means of justification by 
the name ; but then Jesus as a sin-offering is not the end of faith ; 
but a means to the end, which is the inheritance of the kingdom with 
him in all his glory. 

A very circumscribed and superficial view of the gospel is that 
which finds it stated in the words, " Christ died for our sins according 
to the scriptures, was buried, and rose again the third day according 
to the scriptures." 1 The "our" for whom Christ died are those 
who believe the gospel of the kingdom, not those who are ignorant 
of it ; or, as the apostle expresses it, those " who keep in memory 
A certain word (jivi Xoyw) I preached unto them." What word ? 
That which he taught among them a year and six months; and which 
he preached wherever he went. The word concerning " the hope 
of Israel" on account of which he was taken prisoner to Rome; 
and which the Jews listened to patiently, 2 so long as he did not 
mention the name of Jesus ; but when that was introduced, they 
opposed themselves and blasphemed. 3 Because, the apostle is made 
to say in the common version, that he " delivered first of all " the 
death and resurrection of Christ, persons, who know no other than 
their mother tongue, conclude that the sacrifice of Jesus for sin 
was the first thing spoken, and the very gospel itself! But the 
apostle did not write "first of all ;" his words are iv -H-pomus, that is, 
among the first things. And why does he call up the things mentioned 
in the third and fourth verses in preference to the other things he 
delivered? Because he was about to refute the Platonic notion 
taught by some in Corinth, to wit, "that there is no resurrection of 
the dead ; " and to do so it was necessary to remind them of his 
having preached to them the sacrificial death and resurrection of 
Jesus ; which was all a fable, if there were no future resurrection as 
they said ; because it had " passed already : " 4 " Ye are then," said 
he, " yet in your sins, and they who are fallen asleep in Christ are 
perished." 

Three things were to be preached in the name of Jesus Christ to 
them who believed in the promises made of God to the fathers. 
These were first, repentance ; secondly, remission of sins ; and third, 
eternal life. 5 To preach the kingdom in the name of Jesus Christ 
was to expound the things concerning it ; and to offer them to all who 
would become the subjects of repentance and remission of sins in his 
name. Neither "flesh and blood " nor " sinners" can inherit the 
kingdom of God. 6 These are fixed principles. But why not? 
Because " the hittgdom shall not he left to other people" and because 
those who inherit it are to possess it for ever. Now " flesh and 
blood " is mortal; how then can mortality inherit immortality ? It 
is a physical impossibility. In other words, a man who only lives 
seventy years, cannot hold office for a thousand years ; he must be 
made deathless before he can retain it for ever. Again, it is a moral 
impossibility for sinners to possess the kingdom, because the law of 
the kingdom is that " he that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in 

' 1 Cor. xv. 3, 4. 3 Act* xviii. 4. » Acts xviii. 5, 6, 11. « 2 Tim. ii. 18. & Luke xxiv. 44—47; 
John xx. 81. « 1 Cor. xv. 50. 



THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 283 

the fear of God." It is the inheritance of saints, to whom the Lord 
will not impute sin. Two things are therefore indispensable before 
Jew or Gentile can inherit the kingdom — first, a moral purification ; 
and secondly, a physical, or corporeal, purification. The first is 
compassed in obeying the truth ; the last, by a resurrection unto life. 

Now the repentance which results from believing the gospel of the 
kingdom is not u sorrow for sin ;" nor does it contain the least 
bitterness or remorse of feeling in it. The scripture word translated 
repentance is /isTavoia, and signifies, a change of mind and purpose. 
When such a change takes place from believing the truth, it is a 
disposition and mode of thinking such as characterized Abraham; 
who is the model of the faith and temper, which precedes justification 
in the name of the Lord. But a change of mind and purpose however 
" evangelical," is only granted for repentance in the name of Jesus 
Christ. That is to say, though a believer of the gospel of the 
kingdom might possess this state of mind and child-like disposition, 
he would not be regarded as in repentance any more than in Jesus, 
until the name of Christ was named upon him according to " the law 
of faith." It imports not how much a woman loves a man, she is 
not his wife, and therefore entitled to none of the benefits he is able 
to confer, until she puts on his name according to law. The name of 
Christ consummates every thing. " Complete in him;" but out of 
him every thing is imperfect. Faith is unfinished, and the change of 
mind and disposition is incomplete, until the believer of the gospel 
of the kingdom puts on the name of Christ. In the act of doing 
this, his faith is counted to him for righteousness, or remission of sins 
that are past ; and his change of mind and disposition is granted to 
him for repentance. 

But a right to eat of the tree of life in the paradise of God is also 
imparted to the believer through the name of Christ. The life-giving 
efficacy of his name is derived from his resurrection as the first-fruits 
of them that sleep. Had Jesus not risen from the dead, men could 
not have obtained a right to eternal life through his name. This is 
the doctrine of the apostles and the prophets. An unrisen sacrifice 
is only a temporary propitiation for sin. This was the nature of the 
sacrifices under the Mosaic law. Hence the law had no vitality in 
it ; " for if there had been a law given that could have given life, 
verily righteousness should have been by the law." 2 But this was 
impossible. Moses was the mediatorial testator of the covenant from 
Sinai. He died, and the Lord buried him ; but there was no testimony 
added of his resurrection : and though he lives (for he appeared to 
Jesus on the Mount) it was after the law came into force. The 
Mosaic law is therefore, a minister only of death and cursing. But 
Jesus died and rose again, and lives for evermore. Hence, the 
gospel in his name, and the new code hereafter to be promulgated 
from Zion, are efficacious to the bestowal of a right to eternal life 
upon all who believe through his name. 

While a believer is out of Christ, he is in his sins, and while he is 
in his sins he is under the sentence of death ; for " the wagas of sin 

• Acts t. 31 ; xi. IS. "- Gal. iii. 21. 



284 THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

is death." As soon, however, as his sins are forgiven through Christ's 
name, in the act of forgiveness he passes from under the sentence of 
death ; and as there is no middle, or neutral, position, he comes under 
the sentence of life, and rejoices in hope of the kingdom of God. 
Thus Jesus Christ hath abolished death, and brought life and incor- 
ruptibility to light in the gospel of the kingdom. 1 There is no other 
way of obtaining them than through his name, and by a resurrection 
from the dead ; or, if living at the setting up of the kingdom, by a 
change in the twinkling of an eye. Such is the doctrine of Christ 
as opposed to the vain philosophy of Plato. The papist and protestant 
admirers of this heathen speculator, contend for the hereditary 
immortality of an immaterial essence, innate in sinful flesh ; while 
the Lord Jesus has made known that life and incorruptibilhv are 
attributes of the kingdom of God, which they only can obtain* who 
are accounted worthy on gospel principles of inheriting it. In fine 
incorruptible life is part of the reward of the righteous ; and no 
where in the Bible is immortality predicated of, or promised to men 
who die in their sins. Out of Christ immortality there is none. 

DEATH-BED, AND GAOL, REPENTANCE. 

By f the great salvation " is meant deliverance from the grave by 
a resurrection to life, and a share in the kingdom of God. ^This as 
we have seen, is predicated on faith in the promises made to the 
fathers, an Abrahamic disposition, baptism into the name of the 
Holy Ones, and faith made perfect by works. In other words 
salvation is promised to those only who walk in the steps of Abra- 
ham's faith. To deny this is to deny the testimony of God. His 
own Son was not exalted until he was made perfect by suffering. 
" He that believes the gospel, and is baptized, shall be saved • and 
he that believes not shall be condemned." This fiat has never been 
revoked ; it is, therefore, as valid and exceptionless as when it fell 
from the lips of the Son of God. 

Now, in view of this irrefutable truth, what shall we say of that 
system, which holds out assurances of " heaven " to men of earthly 
sensual, and devilish, lives, when they find themselves prisoners of 
disease, and convicts in the clutches of the law ? When death stares 
them in the face, they are exhorted by their " spiritual guides " to 
" make their peace with God ;" and even when preparing for the 
scaffold are taught by " gaol chaplains " to expect to meet in heaven 
the companions of their crimes; and that by partaking of the 
"sacrament" they are making their souls ready "to meet their 
God !" And upon what is all this " consolation of relio-ion " 
founded? Upon a terrible apprehension of the molten and flaminc 
sulphur in hell's cauldron, into which the " penitents " are taught 
their " immortal souls " will be plunged by God, and where thev 
will be tormented by the Devil for all eternity. Not manv weeks 
since a gaol-chaplain at Coventry actually burned a female convict's 
hand with the flame of a candle as a foretaste of her tortures after 

' 2 Tim. i. 10. 



THE THINuS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 285 

death if she did not repent ! This was his plan of proceeding in the 
" cure of her soul ! " But if disease, or crime, had not captured 
the " penitents/' their career would have been still onward in iniquity. 
Finding there is no escape from death either by the rope, or in the 
ordinary way, their audacity and impiety are suspended. They are 
imposed upon by the clerical assurance that the Lord is " waiting to 
be gracious ;" they are directed to the thief upon the cross ; and they 
are deceived by the falsehood, that " while the lamp holds out to 
burn, the vilest sinner may return." All is ready, the gospel feast is 
prepared, and nothing is wanting but for them to believe that Christ 
died for them, to be sorry for the past, profess themselves at peace 
with God and all mankind, and to pray for forgiveness through Jesus 
Christ. Thus the " spiritual guides " of the people shrive them to 
perdition. An act of the mind, prompted by terror and their per- 
suasions, is proposed by them as a set off for a whole life of impiety 
and crime ! What base views must such men have of the God 
whose ministers they pretend to be ! Their " consolations " are un- 
mitigated blasphemy, and false from first to last. Need they be 
surprised at the little impression they make upon the public mind by 
their preaching ; and that mankind are daily increasing in infidelity ? 
The million, though ignorant, are not fools. " What necessity for 
us," say they, " to trouble ourselves about religion. We can be 
shrived in half an hour for all the offences of a long life of sin." 
It is the preachers that make men infidels by the preposterous 
absurdities they preach in the much abused name of Christianity. 

But the worst, and most repulsive, form, of ministerial blasphemy 
is exhibited in gaol-chaplain consolations. These are a striking 
manifestation of clerical ignorance of the letter and spirit of the 
truth. The scripture saith, that "no murderer hath eternal life 
abiding in him ;" and that even " he that hateth his brother is a 
murderer," and, consequently, beyond the pale of mercy. Murder 
can only be pardoned through a faith in the truth that works by love 
and purifies the heart, and made perfect by obedience. If after this 
such a believer fail of the grace of God, and hate, and murder, his 
brother, there is no forgiveness with God, " he shall not see life ; but 
the wrath of God abideth upon him." What with sprinkling infants 
in the name of the Lord, and calling it christian baptism ; shriving 
reprobates at the gates of death, and calling it repentance; and com- 
mitting their loathsome carcasses to the earth under a repetition of 
" common prayer" read over myriads of times, and styling it chris- 
tian burial ; surely, there is superabundant reason to conclude, were 
we even ignorant of the truth itself, that both priests and people are 
deceiving and being deceived. To call the popular system of religion 
by which we are surrounded, the religion of Christ, is not only a 
misnomer, but an imputation on the wisdom of God. Infant- 
sprinkling, death-bed repentances, and " christian burials," as. they 
are termed, are mere human inventions. They belong to the apos- 
tasy, and are no part of the " things of the kingdom of God and the 
name of Jesus Christ." If a man serve the lusts of his flesh all his 
life, no remorse, or resolves, on a bed of death will serve him' in the 



28G THE THINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

least. " He that sows to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption ; 
for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap;" 1 and again, 
" to be carnally-minded is death ;" and " they that are in the flesh 
cannot please God ;" ar.d " if ye live after the flesh ye shall die." 2 
These are testimonies, which in few words show, that there is no 
salvation for a man who serves himself all the days of his life, and 
when he is no longer able to grasp the world, offers the extreme fag- 
end of his existence to God. It is like eating all the meat of a joint, 
and throwing the bone to your friend. If he would feel himself 
insulted, in what estimation would God hold a similar treatment of 
his majesty ; would he not spurn the hypocrite from his presence, 
and justly too? 

It is because of these abominations that the judgments of God are 
falling upon the nations. Ministerial and popular iniquities have 
brought the pestilence upon this people ; and war and famine upon 
others. They are but the beginning of sorrows. At present the 
storm has lulled ; but it is only that it may gather force to sweep 
before it all refuges of lies. " Woe to the world because of offences ! " 
In former pages, I have endeavoured to show the reader what the 
truth is. I have advanced nothing that I can recollect, but what I 
have adduced " the law and the testimony " to prove. Let him view 
the landscapes of the sioral world by the light of the truth, and he 
will behold the darkness visible. He will see its drapery in tatters, 
and its rags falling to pieces from very rottenness. Its fabric is rent 
from the dome to its foundations ; and its structure is like a bowing 
wall and a tottering fence. There is no safety under its roof. Even 
the owls and the bats of its crannies are panic-stricken. Come out, 
then, dear reader, and leave the den, if unhappily you sojourn there. 
Believe the truth for its own sake, and obey it ; and if you stand 
alone, be of good courage ; I have tried it for many years, and can 
assure you from experience, that there is more real satisfaction in 
knowing, and being able to prove, the truth, and in contending single- 
handed for it, than in all the honor and enjoyment derivable from the 
applause of men, or the abundance of the world's goods a man may 
possess. There remains scarcely time enough to " work out one's 
salvation with fear and trembling " before the Lord comes. If the 
righteous " scarcely be saved " what scope is there for the ungodly 
and the sinner ; 3 and if judgment began at the house of God in the 
persecutions it endured, " what shall the end be of them that obey 
not the gospel of God ?" 3 Be not deceived by the traditions of the 
gentile scribes, and orators. Their ministrations have no vitality in 
them, and leave their flocks in their own predicament, " dead in 
trespasses and in sins." Therefore, " come out from among them, 
and be ye separate, and touch not the unclean ; and I will receive 
you, and will be a Father to you, and ye shall be my sons and 
daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." 4 

« 0a'.. <r\. 7, 8. 2 Rom. viii. 6, 8, 13. 3 1 Pet. iv. 18, 17. * 2 Cor. vi. 17, 18. 



AN EXPOSITION, 

&c, &c 

$att C$tt*. 

THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD IN RELATION TO THB 
KINGDOM OF GOD. 



CHAPTER I. 

Tlw pandemonianism of the world— The Press, its organ to a great extent— Its 
conductors greatly deficient in political prevision — A divine agency the real 
source of the world's revolutions— God hath revealed what shall come to pass — 
Nebuchadnezzar's Image explained — It represents an Autocrasy to be manifested 
in these Latter Days — The Toe- Kingdoms enumerated — The Vision of the Four 
Beasts— Of the Saints and the two Witnesses. 



Having laid before the reader in the former parts of this work " the 
things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus 
Christ;" and, I trust, enabled him to be "ready always to give an 
answer to every man that asketh him a reason of the hope that is in 
him ;" and also to know without doubt, what he must do to be saved : 
I propose now to give an outline of the things set forth in " the sure 
word of prophecy " in relation to that crisis in human affairs which 
has come upon the world, and which is destined to be the occasion of 
the introduction of the kingdom of God. 

The Lord hath truly said by the prophet, " I have a long time 
holden my peace ; I have been still, and refrained myself. " l It is 
now about seventeen hundred and fifty years since he spoke by his 
servant John to the seven congregations in Asia Minor; and so 
entirely hath he refrained himself from further revelation of his will, 
that men have at length almost generally concluded, that he hath 
ceased to take any interest in human affairs. They speculate upon 
passing events, as though they thought that mankind were formed for 
no nobler destiny, than to fret out a brief and crushing existence in a 
precarious competition for food and raiment ; and to labor with 
asinine endurance for the behoof of those, who, by violence, avarice, 
and fraud, have gained the ascendancy over them. God is not in 

' Isaiah xlii. 14. 



288 THE KINGDOMS OF " *IE WORLD 

their thoughts when they treat of the affairs of men. They deal 
only with secondary causes, while the agency of the great First Cau^e 
is supposed to be confined to the saving of "immortal souls " from 
purgatory, or from burning in liquid brimstone underneath. " Order" 
at any price, is with them the chief good. They ascribe glory and 
honor to Satan, though he has established a despotism over the nations 
which rivals the mythic dominion of Pluto. Every thing dear to 
truth, righteousness, and liberty, must be suppressed by armed 
mercenaries, provided only that bank, stock-exchange, and com- 
mercial, speculations, and the " vested interests" of public plunderers 
in church and state, be protected, and preserved intact. 

Such is the pandemonianism of the world. Sin in its most heartless 
and hateful deformity reigns the universal despot of the nations. It 
is enthroned, and decorated with crowns, tiaras, coronets, and mitres ; 
and is gathering strength by fraud, hypocrisy, and murder, for a last 
and final effort to crush all future endeavors to cast it out unto the 
earth, and its angels with it. A corrupt and vicious press is the 
ignoble and servile apologist of its treachery and blood. It flatters 
the grim assassins of the people, the soul of whose institutions is the 
ignorant stolidity and cruel superstition, of a dark and iron age. Its 
sympathies are with profligate kings, blasphemous priests, and savage 
generals ; while no epithet is too vile, or opprobrious, for those who, 
having endured to the uttermost the debasing and ruinous oppression 
of their destroyers, seek to break their bonds, expel them from their 
thrones, and to diffuse truth and science among the people. While a 
christian would take no part in the armed melee, he is convinced that 
nothing but violence in the beginning, in order to punish and crush the 
lyrants, can prepare the way for the amelioration of society. This is 
the order, as I shall show, which God has ordained as preliminary to 
the setting up of his kingdom. But the conductors of the press do 
not understand this. It is not more corrupt and vicious than it is 
blind to the scriptural philosophy of the things of which it treats. It 
cannot see afar off, and the objects which are near it cannot com- 
prehend. How applicable to its scribes is the exclamation of the 
Lord, * 4 O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky ; but 
how is it ye cannot discern the signs of the times ! " — signs, which 
are announcing to the nations with a voice of thunder, that Jehovah 
hath aroused himself in his holy habitation ; that the time hath at 
length come when he will be still and refrain himself no longer ; but 
that he will make bare his holy arm, and " destroy them that destroy 
the earth," * or oppress mankind. 

But, though the Lord hath a long time held his peace, he hath not 
been unmindful of his jxopl?, nor heedless of human affairs. The 
great incidents of history which have given rise to successive kingdoms 
and dominions, from the overturning of the kingdom and throne of 
God and of David, his anointed, in Judea, by the Chaldeans, to the 
present time, are but events predetermined and arranged in the purpose 
of God, and revealed in the u sure word of prophecy." Not a 
kingdom has been established, nor a king dethroned, but it has formed 

' Rev. xi. 18. 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 289 

a move, which has contributed to the maturity of the present crisis 
which will ultimate in the introduction of the kingdom of God. 
This truth is beautifully expressed in the words of the prophet, 
saying, *• Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever; for wisdom 
and might are his : and he rhangeth the times and the seawns : he 

REMOVETH KINGS AND SETTETH UP KINGS : he givetll wisdom UlltO 

the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding : he 
revealeth the deep and secret things: he knowelh what is in the 
darkness, and the light dwelleth with him." 1 It is he to whom all 
things are subjected ; "for he ruleth in the kingdom of men, and 
givetli it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of 
men." 2 This is the reason why men and women with so little wisdom, 
or rather possessed of so much positive folly and imbecility, are able 
to rule the nations without " setting on fire the course of nature.'* 
When their wickedness and stupidity become obstacles to his purpose, 
lie removes them out of the way, and introduces other actors upon 
the stage. In this way, he controls and regulates the world's affairs ; 
but in every interference he shapes the course of events towards the 
consummation predetermined from the foundation of the world. 

In ages past, God has had among the nations a people of his own. 
These are wise in the wisdom of God, and venerate his word above 
all things. Though not his counsellors, he has graciously condescended 
to inform them what he intends to do before it comes to pass. Hence, 
it is testified by the prophet, that " the Lord God will surely do 
nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." 3 
This revelation is made that his people's faith may be confirmed and 
enlarged ; and that in every generation they may know the times and 
seasons to which they stand related. Knowing the signs they are 
enabled to discern the times ; and while consternation and dismay 
cause men's hearts to fail, they are courageous, and rejoice in per- 
ceiving the approach of the kingdom of God. This is the proper 
use of the prophetic word. It was thus that the ancients used it, and 
were enabled to live in advance of their contemporaries. This appears 
from the exhortation of the apostle who says, " We have a sure word 
of prophecy, whereunto you do well to take heed, as unto a light 
that shineth in a dark place until the day dawn, and the day-star arise 
in your hearts : knowing this first that no prophecy of scripture 
originates of one's own prescience. For prophecy came not at any 
time by the will of man ; but the holy men of God spake being 
moved by the holy spirit." 4 Some were not unmindful of this 
exhortation, which is as applicable to us as to them ; for the day has 
not yet dawned, nor has the day-star arisen. Were it not for the 
prophetic word, the " heirs of the kingdom" would be in as outer 
darkness as gaol-chaplains, who burn the flesh to cure the soul ; or 
administer the '! sacrament " to gallows-thieves about to die ! The 
sure prophetic word is itself a shining light, but, having been "put 
under a bushel," mankind are lefo enshrouded in Egyptian night. 
<; Be mindful," saith the scripture, " of the words spoken before by 
the holy prophets ;" and on the ground that this was the case, the 

■ Dan. ii. 20—23. « Dan. iv. 17. * Amos. iii. 7. * 2 Pet. i. 19. 

T 



290 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

apostle adds, " Therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, 
beware lest ye, being led away with the error of the wicked, full from 
your own stedfastness." * The words of the prophets to which he 
referred, related to the destruction of the Hebrew commonwealth. 
His brethren were acquainted with these prophesies, and therefore 
knew what was about to happen, though not the day or the hour. 
Hence, this knowledge was to be their caution and security against 
being led away by the spiritualizers of the time, who wrested the 
scriptures to their own destruction. 1 

From these premises we may conclude, that as the Lord has also 
revealed what is to come to pass in these latter days, it is both our 
duty and privilege to make ourselves acquainted with it, that our 
faith may grow and be strengthened ; our affections be detached from 
the fleeting present, and set more firmly on things to come; that our 
minds may be fortified against error ; and that we may be prepared 
to meet the Lord as those who have kept their garments, and shall 
not be put to shame. 2 It is our own faults if we are not " light in 
the Lord." He has plainly set before us what is happening in our 
day, and what is yet to occur. Hence, while the priests of the State 
Church are drowsily exclaiming, while war and political murders 
abound, " Give peace in our time, O Lord !" — and while peace- 
societies are with infidel voices crying " Peace and safety :" — they 
who take heed to the prophetic word " know before," that the hour 
of God's judgment is come, and that destruction is at the door. 

In pursuance, then, of the work before us, namely, that of unfold- 
ing the train of events which are to ultimate in the setting up of the 
kingdom of God, I shall proceed to show the things represented in 

NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S IMAGE. 

This was a colossus in human form, which appeared to the king of 
Babylon in. a dream. The head was of gold ; the breast and the 
arms of silver ; the belly and the thighs of brass ; the legs of iron ; 
and the feet part of iron and part of clay. While the king continued 
to behold it, a stone poised in the air, unsustained by hands, fell with 
great force upon the feet y and broke them to pieces. After they were 
smitten, the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the goid, were 
all broken to pieces together, and became like chaff, which the wind 
so completely swept away, that no vestige of the image remained. 
The image being thus destroyed and abolished, the stone that smote 
it became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. 

The interpretation given to the king informed him that the head of 
gold represented the dominion of which he was the head ; that the 
silver part symbolized the monarchy which would succeed his; the 
brazen part, a third power which should bear rule over all the earth; 
and, the iron part, a fourth dominion strong as iron, that should sub- 
due everything before it. This fourth kingdom, he was told, should 
be divided, inasmuch as there were two iron legs, and ten toes. But 
as the toes of the feet were part of them cf iron, and another part of 

1 2 Pet iii. 2, 17, 16. ' Ber fcvi. 15. 



IN THEM RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 291 

clay, the dominion represented by the ten toes, would be partly strong-, 
and partly broken. But, as there was a mingling of iron and clay 
in the structure of the feet, while the toes constituted unitedly the 
iron dominion, they should not cleave to one another, but should be 
independent and antagonist kingdoms. 

Lastly, the king was given to understand, that the smiting of the 
image by the stone on the feet, represented the breaking in pieces and 
consumption of all the toe-kingdoms by the God of heaven; who 
should set up in their place a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, 
nor left to other people. 

Such was the prophetic interpretation, which was given with the 
dream about twenty-four centuries and a half ago. I shall now 
briefly outline the historical interpretation, and then consider what 
yet remains to be accomplished. 

The interpreter has determined the commencement of the image. 
It goes no further back than the time of .Nebuchadnezzar, whose 
dynasty was superseded by a two-armed monarchy, in the reign of 
his son's son, Belshazzar, B.C. 538. This was the silver dominion 
of the Medes and Persians. After 208 years, this was overturned by 
Alexander of Macedon, B.C. 33). His dominion exceeded that of 
Babylon and Persia, extending from the remote confines of Macedonia 
to the Indus, or as it is expressed, " bearing rule over all the earth." 
This was the dominion of ' 4 the brazen-coated Greeks," answering to 
the brazen part of the image. After a few years, the empire of brass 
was divided into four kingdoms, two of which had especial relations 
with the land of Canaan upon which the kingdom of the stone is to be 
established. These two, therefore, are alone represented in the image. 
They answer to the two brazen thighs ; and are known in history 
as the Syro- Macedonian kingdom of the north, that is, from Jerusa- 
lem ; and the Greco-Egyptian kingdom of the south. The northern 
kingdom continued till B.C. 67, when it became attached to the 
iron leg; the southern kingdom, however, "continued more years 
than the king of the north," even thirty-seven, when it also merged 
into the iron dominion. From this epoch, the iron monarchy pre- 
vailed over all antagonists. It is known in history as the Roman. 
In the fourth century after Christ, it was finally divided into the 
Eastern Roman, and the Western Roman, empires, answering to the 
two legs of iron. Though divided thus, the Roman majesty was 
considered as one. The date of the division was A.D. 396. In 
about ninety-seven years from this epoch, ten kingdoms appeared 
upon the Western Roman territory answering to the ten toes. They 
were not all strong kingdoms. Part of them were absorbed into a 
new dominion, which arose after them beyond the limits of the Roman 
territory into which it extended itself. These strong and broken toe- 
kingdoms have existed upwards of thirteen centuries. They are still 
in being; but not as originally established. This the prophecy does 
not require. All that is necessary is, that there should be ten king- 
doms at the time the image is smitten by the stone. And these 
kingdoms, I am satisfied, should be on "the earth,'' and not upon 
"the sea;" that is to say, they should be found upon the Roman 

T 2 



292 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

continent, and not upon the islands ; and that the enumeration of 
them belongs to the time of the end, rather than to the period of their 
foundation. With this view, then, I enumerate the toe-kingdoms as 
follows : 

1. Belgium; 2. France; 3. Spain; 4. Portugal; 5. Naples; 
6. Sardinia; 7. Greece; 8. Hungary; 9. Lombardy ; 10. Bavaria. 

I have not named Britain, although the island was a part of the 
Roman dominion. It is, however, no more imperative that she 
should be included in the ten than Egypt, which is also on 
the Roman territory. Existing theories require Britain to be counted 
in; but I have nothing to do with them ; I propose to show a more 
consistent interpretation that shall harmonize with other important 
and interesting parts of the prophetic word. 

The ten kingdoms enumerated above are all within the Roman 
limits. There are many other kingdoms beyond its frontiers, resting 
upon territory that never belonged to Rome, or the iron dominion ; 
therefore they must not be named in the same category. Nebuchad- 
nezzar's image has to do only with powers occupying the area of the 
golden, silver, brazen, and iron, dominions ; other prophecies survey 
the rest. 

Thus far, then, history runs parallel with the prophetic interpreta- 
tion. We are not informed in this vision how many of the toes were 
weak. It simply affirms the fact ; and defers further details for 
illustration by other symbols. What, then, remains to be accom- 
plished? The testimony informs us that the ten kingdoms are all to 
be broken to pieces ; and after they are smitten, that the whole image 
in all its different metals is to be " broken to pieces together" But 
how can this be ? Where are the dominions represented by the 
gold, the silver, the brass, and the iron? How can they be broken 
to pieces together, seeing that they have been broken to pieces one 
after the other very many centuries ago? The answer to this question 
is important, and must be given ; for without it no interpretation can 
be received as satisfactory. And here I would remark, that the 
image was presented to the mind of the king of Babylon, not so 
much to represent a succession of empires, as to exhibit the catastro- 
phy which should usher in the kingdom of God. The idea I would 
convey is well expressed by the prophet, saying, " the God in heaven, 
who revealeth secrets, maketh known to the king what shall be in 
the latter days" 1 That is, there will be in the latter days a dominion, 
ruling over all the countries mainly comprehended in the limits of 
the successive empires of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome; and 
represented by the image as a whole ; and which will be broken by 
a power from heaven, which will utterly destroy it, and set up an 
empire which will cover all the territory it possessed. 

Now, there has never yet existed a single dominion, contemporary 
with the toe-kingdoms, and of course comprehending them in its 
jurisdiction, which could claim to be represented by Nebuchadnezzar's 
image. In order, then, to prepare for the catastrophy, the image 
which is now in antagonistic parts, must be re-constructed ; in other 

' Dan. ii. 28, 29. 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 293 

words, a dominion must arise between the present time and the setting- 
up of the kingdom of God, which shall rule over the toe-kino-doms^ 
and the Turkish, and Persian, territories, till it meets the British power 
in the East. The description of the dream says, that the feet were 
smitten ; and "then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and 
the gold, broken to pieces together;" thereby intimating, that the 
breaking of the power of the ten kingdoms would precede that of the 
conjoint destruction of all the other parts. That when they are 
conquered, the dominion of the conqueror will be overturned by the 
revelation of power from above. 

I shall be able to show from other parts of the prophetic word, 
that the power destined to play the conspicuous part indicated above 
is Russia. That it will over-run all the ten kingdoms, subdue Turkev 
and incorporate Persia into its empire; but that when it has reached its 
zenith, it will in turn be precipitated into the abyss, and its dominion 
suppressed for a thousand years. When I come to unfold these things, 
the reader will see why Britain is not included in the ten toes. She 
is reserved of God to antagonize Russia, as she did France, when all 
Europe was prostrate at the feet of " Napoleon le Grand." The ten 
toes belong to the image as an united dominion; hence Britain 
cannot be included among them unless it is first conquered by the 
overshadowing power ; which it will not be, as is clearly demonstrable 
from many parts of the divine testimony. Russia will command the 
land, and Britain rule the sea. They will contend for the dominion 
of the East; but neither will obtain it. It is not for mortal man to 
rule the world, and grasp the sole dominion of the globe. This is an 
inheritance, the divine legacy of omnipotence, to Abraham, Shiloh 
and the saints. 

It is evident, that the dominion of the Image is not broken bv a 
human power. The stone which destroys it is represented as not" in 
hands; that is, it symbolizes a supernatural power. Vi the stone had 
keen poised in a man's hands ready to smite the imao-e, we mi^ht 
look for an earthly conqueror to overthrow the dominion of the 
Autocrat, as he will overthrow the rest. But the power that wields 
the stone is plainly declared in the interpretation. It is the God of 
heaven who pulverizes the image, and sweeps its chaffy dust away by 
the whirling tempest which wrecks the kingdoms of the world, and 
transfers them to his saints. The kingdom of the stone grinds to 
powder whatsoever it falls upon, and then becomes a great mountain 
or empire of nations, and fills the whole earth. 



THE VISION OF THE FOUR BEASTS. 

There were certain important particulars to be revealed in connection 
with the empires and kingdoms of the Metallic Image, which could 
not be suitably expressed through a symbol of the human form. It 
became necessary therefore to introduce other representations, that 
would admit of appendages more in harmony with them. Wild beasts 
were selected to represent dominions instead of parts of a metallic 



294 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

figure ; and as there wore foui; different metal.*, four different anin &h 
M'ere selected, according to the following order : 

1. The head of gold, was illustrated by a Lion ; 

2. The breasts arid arms of silv&\ by a Bear ; 

3. The belli/ and thighs of brass, by a Leopard ; and, 

4. The legs, feet, and toes of iron, by a Fourth Beast wtth 
Ten Horns. 

OF THE LIOls. 

The beasts being substituted for the metals represent of course the 
name dominions. The lion was a very appropriate symbol for the 
Assyrian dynasty ; and it was as well understood to represent it in 
the dayi> of the prophets, as it is now that the lion and unicorn are 
symbols of the British power. Hence, speaking of the overthrow 
coming upon Judah by Nebuchadnezzar, Jeremiah say?-, "I will 
bring evil from the north, and a great destruction. The Linn is 
come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on h\9 
way. He is gone forth to make thy land desolate j and thy cities 
fchall be laid waste without an inhabitant." * 

But in Daniel, 2 the Assyrian lion appears under different aspects, 
tie is represented first, as a lion with eagle's wings, crouching* 
and, secondly, as a lion without wings, standing erect, human- like > 
and with the disposition of a man. 

The lion in these two aspects represents the Assyrian monarchy in 
iwo phases ; first, while Nineveh was its capital; and secondly, when 
toy conquest the seat of government was transferred to Babylon, 
Esarhaddon was king of Assyria while Merodach Baladan was king 
of Babylon, and both were contemporary with Hezekiah, king of 
Judah. Baladan, the father of Merodach-Baladan, was probably 
the founder of Nebuchadnezzar's dynasty. Merodach was doubtless 
an important member of the family : for Nebuchadnezzar named his 
son Evil-Merodach, after him. About 106 years elapsed from the 
embassy of Merodach-Baladan, to inquire after the health of Hezekiah, 
and concerning the bringing back of the shadow i'cr, degrees by 
which it had gone down on the dial, to the first year of Nebuchad- 
nezzar's reign ; which was equivalent to the third of Jehoiakim, king 
of Judah. It was by the Merodach-Baladan dynasty, that "the 
wings of the Assyrian lion were plucked ; " that is, the Esarhaddon 
dynasty of Assyria was superseded by the king of Babylon, as the 
destroyer of the Gentiles. 

Before this revolution was effected, the Assyrian dominion way 
represented by a winged lion, having the form of a man down to 
the waist, and furnished with arms. This is satisfactorily demonstrated 
by Mr. Lay aid in his u Nineveh and its remains." In his excavations 
*t Nineveh he laid bare sculptured lions, twelve feet high and twelve 
feet long. In one hand, a goat was held ; and in the other hanging 
town by the side, a branch with three flowers. Prom the shoulder 
prang forth expanded wings which spread over <he back. The body 

1 Jer. hr. 7 ' Dau. rii. 



Ill THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OP GrOD. 205 

was that of a lion with five legs, two on the fore-end, and three on 
the side. The head, breast, and arras were human, and as low down 
as the waist. A knotted girdle ending in tassels, encircled the loins. 

But when Nineveh's dominion was transferred to Babylon by a 
conqueror, a change came over the Assyrian lion. Daniel says, 
"I beheld till its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the 
earth/' Jn consequence of its eagle's wings being plucked, that is, 
of Armenia and Persia being subdued, the Assyrian dominion was 
prostrated to the earth ; completely overthrown, but not destroyed ; 
for Daniel says furthermore, that u the lion was made to stand upon 
the feet as a man." Nebuchadnezzar was at once the conqueror and 
re-builder of the Assyrian monarchy. He made it stand erect, and 
gave it a more civilized constitution. Shalmaneser had destroyed the 
kingdom of the ten tribes of Israel, and Sennacherib had blasphemed 
Jehovah, and the posterity of his son Esarhaddon had become effete: 
this was a dynasty which had become a pest, a plague spot upon the 
nations ; but Nebuchadnezzar, though an idolator, was a man better 
suited to the purposes of God. There was more of the man, and 
less of the wild beast, in him than in the kings of the dynasty he had 
overthrown. Therefore, when the Assyrian lion was made to stand 
erect upon its hind i'eet like a man, Daniel says, that "a man's heart 
was given to it." Its golden, or imperial lion-head, was reponsive to 
divine impressions, and gave utterance to sentiments, which were 
entirely alien from the heart of the kings of Nineveh. ■* I bles»ed 
the Most High," said Nebuchadnezzar, " and I praised and honored 
him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, 
and his kingdom is from generation to generation : and all the 
inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; and he doeth 
according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabit- 
ants of the earth : and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, 
What doest thou ? I praise, and extol, and honor the King of 
Heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment ; and 
those that walk in pride he is able to abase." l 

But this '* mans heart" was not the disposition of Belshatzar, 
his son's son. Instead of praising, and extolling, and honoring the 
God of Israel, he defied him ; and " lifted himself up against the 
Lord of heaven ; and out of the holy vessels of his temple, he, and 
his lords, his wives, and his concubines, drank wine ; and he praised 
the gods of silver and gold, and of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which 
see not, nor hear, nor know : and the God in whose hand his breath 
was, and whose were all his ways, he had not glorified." This was 
his offence, on account of which the Lord of heaven passed this 
sentence upon him : " God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished 
it ; thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. And 
thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians." Nor 
was the execution of the decree long delayed, for "on that night 
was Belshatzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the 
Median took the kingdom." 2 

' Compare Dan. iv. 34, 35, 37, with Isaiah xxxvi. » Dan. r. 31. 



296 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 



OF THE BEAR. 



The lion dominion being overthrown, the dynasty of the Bear 
took its place when " Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of 
the Medes, was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans," in 538 
before Christ. It was a dominion to be extended by the sword, a 
particular expressed in the words addressed to the Bear, " Arise, 
devour much flesh." 

In the symbolography, or description of the symbol, the prophet 
saith, that " it raised up itself on one side." Hence, one side was 
" higher than the other ;" but, before it raised itself up, the higher 
side was the lower; therefore, the higher side acquired its more 
elevated position last. Compare this characteristic of the Bear, with 
what is said of the horns of the Ram. 1 The inequality of the sides 
of the Bear, represents the historical fact, that the dynasty of the 
Bear-dominion was m'ixed ; that is, it was first Median and then 
Persian. Darius was a Mede, and his successor Cyrus, a Persian. 
They were allies in the overthrow of the Chaldean kingdom. When 
the crown was to be assumed, the Mede preceded the Persian ; but 
when Darius died, instead of the crown descending to a Mede, it 
passed to a Persian, whose race continued to wear it until the 
dominion of the Bear was superseded by the leopard. Thus the 
Persian side of the Bear was raised up last. 

But the Bear had also " three ribs in the mouth of it, between 
the teeth of it." This indicates that in devouring much flesh, the 
result was that its prey was reduced to "three ribs," which had 
become firmly fixed to its head. In other words, that the Medes and 
Persians had made extensive conquests, which were reduced to three 
divisions for the better administration of public affairs. A rib of the 
dominion, then, represents an imperial presidency, or, as we should 
say, vice-royalty ; each satrapy comprehending a number of prin- 
cipalities. This organization of the Bear is thus expressed by the 
prophet, " It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom a hundred and 
twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom ; and over 
these three presidents ; of whom Daniel was first : that the princes 
might give accounts unto them, and the king (or Bear's head) should 
have no damage." By the reign of Ahasuerus, or Artaxerxes, the 
second, the dominion of the Bear extended " from India to Ethiopia 
over one hundred and twenty seven provinces." Though the princi- 
palities may have been increased in number, or extent, the presidencies 
remained the same, A dominion represented by the Bear, its 
dynastic branch by the higher side, and its three presidencies by the 
three ribs, were the principal points which distinguished the realm of 
the Chaldeans, under the Medo-Persian sovereignty, from that of the 
Lion, or the Head of Gold. And it is worthy of remark here with 
reference to the image at the crisis of its fate, that the power which 
shall possess Persia in the latter days will be the Bear, and con- 
sequently answer to the breast of silver. We have already in the 

> Dan. viii. 8. 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 297 

heraldry of nations an intimation of the power destined to act the part 
of the bear, when the Four Beasts have 4 ' their dominion taken 
away." This power is the Russian whose symbol is a Bear. This is so 
well known, that the phrase " the Russian Bear " is as familiar as 
household words. Russia, which already comprehends some of the 
Persian territory in its bounds, is destined to conquer Persia, and to 
possess it from India to Ethiopia. This is not conjecture, but an 
absolute certainty ; for God has declared by Ezekiel, that Persia in 
the latter days shall be a constituent of the dominion of Gog ; and, 
that Gog is the autocratic dynasty of Russia will be seen when we 
come to treat of that prophecy in its proper place. We proceed now 
to the consideration of the Third Beast, or, 

FOUR-HEADED, AND FOUR- WING ED, LEOPARD. 

This beast represents the Macedonian dominion which superseded 
that of the Bear, as the belly and thighs of brass did the breast and 
arms of silver. The Leopard-dominion was more extended than its 
predecessors ; for it embraced all that belonged to the Lion and the 
Bear, with the addition of that which had been established by Philip 
of Macedon, the predecessor of Alexander " the Great." *' It bore 
rule over all the earth," or Image-territory, thus far subjugated to 
" civilization," such as it was at that era of the world. 

In the year 301 before Christ, the Macedonian dominion in its 
divisions, and their relative position, is illustrated by the Four Wings 
of a fowl, and the four Leopard heads. Alexander ruled his conquests 
for the short space of six years, when he died in Babylon of intoxica- 
tion. After a long period of war, his unwieldy empire was resolved 
into several kingdoms, of which the four principal ones are repre- 
sented by the Four Heads of the Leopard. These were its mighty 
powers to which the others looked up, as the lesser states do now to 
the great military potentates of the age. 

The four great powers, or heads, of the Grecian Leopard, were, 

1. The kingdom of the south which comprehended Egypt, Lybia, 
Arabia, Ccele-Syria, and Palestine, under the Greco-Egyptian 
dynasty ; 

2. The kingdom of the North-west, including Thrace, Bythinia, 
&c. ; or, the Thraco-Macedonian ; 

3. The kingdom of the North-east, comprehending the rest. of 
Asia, and beyond the Euphrates to the Indus ; India beyond the 
river, though allotted to this dominion, revolted ; so that the Indus 
became its boundary : this was the Assyro-Macedonian ; and, 

4. The kingdom of the West, which embraced Macedonia and 
Greece. 

Such were the heads. But, how was it to be determined that they 
should stand related to these four points of the compass? This was 
indicated by the wings of the Leopard ; an interpretation made evi- 
dent from the words of the prophet, saying, "the Lord shall gather 
Judah from the four corners (in Heb. the four wings) of the earth." 1 

1 Isaiah xi. 12 ; Dan xi. 4. 



20S THE KINGDOMS OF THE VORLD 

The addition of the wings, then, to this beast, signifies that the king- 
doms represented by the heads would be towards the east, west, north, 
and south, of Judea. 

A Leopard is sometimes used to indicate the British power. 
During the war in the Peninsular, Napoleon and his generals often 
threatened to " drive the leopard into the sea ;" by which they 
meant, that they would drive the British out of Spain and Portugal. 
Now, in Daniel 1 the dominion of Alexander, which extended into 
British India, is represented by a Unicorn, that is, a goat with one 
horn. Hence, the Leopard, without additional heads, and without 
wings, represents the same dominion as the Unicorn. Now it occurs 
to me, that the British Unicorn is a symbol representing a similar 
thing to the iEgean Unicorn of Alexander; and, therefore, identifies 
the British power with the Grecian Leopard. I do not say, that the 
mind which designed the heraldry of the British power had the part 
predestined for Britain to enact in the latter days before it, when 
it inserted the leopard Unicorn. But divine wisdom sometimes 
impels men to do things the import of which they very imperfectly 
understand ; and the insertion of the Unicorn may have been an act 
of this nature. Be this as it may, there are indications which make 
the idea more than probable. In the first place, the British power is 
the constitutional protector of the Ionian Islands contiguous to the 
Morea and ancient xMacedonia ; and secondly, it possesses a part of 
Alexander " the Great's " dominion in India, and is absorbing more 
and more of it every war it wages in the far east. When the Bear 
pushes for Constantinople, it is not unlikely that the British Unicorn 
will make extensive seizures of the islands in the Mediterranean as an 
antagonistic compensation for the continental territory acquired by 
the autocrat in European Turkey. Britain is bound to maintain a 
maritime ascendancy in the Mediterranean ; not because she has any 
continental territory washed by its waters, but because of her vast 
interests in India, which would be greatly endangered by an uncon- 
trolled military power in Anatolia and Egypt. When the power of 
the British Unicorn shall be fully developed in maritime Greece, 
Egypt, Palestine, the Red Sea, and India, a leopard dominion will 
again appear upon the stage of action, and be prepared for the 
catastrophy of the latter days. 

OF THE FOURTH BEAST, OR TEN-HORNED DRAGON. 

This beast was to arise out of the Mediterranean territory as well 
as the others. The belligerent tempests on every side were to give 
rise to it; for, says Daniel, "the four winds of the heaven strove 
upon the Great Sea. And Four Gnat Beasts came up from the sea, 
diverse one from another:"' and, when he has finished the description 
of them, he states that " they are four kings (kings being used in 
scripture oftentimes for their kingdoms, and rice versa) which shall 
arise out of the earth;" which explains, that when he says " up from 

1 Dan. viii. 6. 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 299 

the sea," he means the countries of the Mediterranean, which in 
scripture geography is styled the Great Sea. 

That this beast is identical in signification with the iron part of the 
image, and incorporates within its dominion the territory of the 
kingdoms of the brazen thighs, is indicated by " its teeth of iron and 
claws of brass. 7 ' A beast of prey destroys with its teeth and claws. 
Like the iron kingdom of the image, this iron-toothed dominion was 
to devour and break in pieces all that came in its way, and to stamp 
the undevoured residue with its brazen-clawed feet. It was " exceed- 
ing dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly ;" and, though not 
named by the prophet, may, by the aid of history and the apocalypse, 
be correctly termed, the Greco-Roman Dragon. 

This Fourth Beast was shown to Daniel for the purpose of repre- 
senting certain things predestined to come to pass in connexion with 
the ten toes of the image, which could not be suitably displayed in 
symbolic feet. The things to be illustrated were 

1. The eradication of the power of three toe-dj nasties, or, royal- 
ties ; and the subjection of their territories to an imperial dominion ; 

2. The peculiar character and constitution of this imperiality ; 

3. The part this militant power was to play in relation to the 
saints ; 

4. The time the image's feet were to continue before they should 
be smitten by the stone ; 

5. The consumption of the militant power which was to precede 
the destruction of the image ; 

6. The personage through whom the destructive power of the 
stone should be manifested ; 

7. The giving of the kingdom to Him, and the saints ; and, 

8. The nature of the mountain which should fill the whole earth. 
These eight points constitute a summary of the things designed to 

be represented by the Eleven Horns which made their appearance on 
the head of the Fourth Beast. The first point is symbolized, by the 
coming up of a Little Horn among the Ten Horns which " subdues 
Three Horns," so as to " pluck up by the roots " the regal dynasties 
they represent ; and in this way leaving only seven independent 
royalties, besides its imperial self. 

The second and third points are represented by this Little Horn 
having inserted into it human Eyes and Mouth ; and described as 
having a more audacious look than his fellow horns, or contemporary 
dynasties ; and " speaking very great things," or blasphemies 
"against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, (or saints, 
styled the temple of God in the scripture) and them that dwell 
in heaven." Its character is also further illustrated by its " making 
war upon the saints and prevailing against them," and changing 
God's times and laws. 

The fourth and fifth points are set forth by the slaying, and burning 
of the Fourth Beast with his appendages at the end of " a time, 
times, and the dividing of time." 

And the sixth, seventh, and eighth, points, are revealed by the verbal 
declaration, that " the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven, 



300 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

and came to the Ancient of Days, and there was given him dominion, 
glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should 
serve him ; his dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not 
pass away, and his kingdom one which shall not be destoyed." 
Again, " the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and 
possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever ;" and again, 
" the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom ; " " and the 
kingdom, and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the 
whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most 
High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions 
shall serve and obey him." 1 This is the dominion of " the great 
Mountain that fills the whole earth." 

There is nothing said about the heads of this Fourth Beast, whether 
there were one or more. Hence, the chronology of the symbol must 
be restricted to the Horns. The dynasties of the leopard-heads 
were all superseded by the Fourth Beast before the birth of Christ ; 
but the ten horns, answering to the ten toes of the image, did not 
make their appearance till the fifth century after Christ. The life of 
the Beast is measured by the continuance of the horns ; and the 
duration of these by the time allotted for the Little Horn to prevail 
against the saints. It is to prevail " until a time, times, and the 
dividing of time " shall have elapsed from some determinate epoch. 
Nothing is more obvious to one of these saints than that these 
" times " have not yet run out ; because the power still exists and 
prevails against them. Upwards of 1260 years have elapsed since 
the Horns established themselves on the western Roman territory ; 
so that the chronology of the symbol is not to be calculated from the 
rise, or growth of the horns out of the Dragon's head. Indeed, if 
we had no other data than what are furnished us in the vision of the 
Fourth Boast, we could not tell when " the time, times, and dividing 
of time " should commence. The vision only informs us when it 
shall end, namely, with the casting down of the thrones, or Horn- 
dynasties ; and the destruction of the Beast's dominion in all its 
parts by the " burning flame ;" a process which has been steadily 
advancing sinee February 1848, and thereby indicating that the 
consummation is at hand. 

The fall of three horns before the Little Horn which overthrows 
them, by which it becomes an eighth power on the Dragon's territory, 
suggests its identity with " the eighth which goeth into perdition " 
treated of in the apocalypse. l Speaking of the signification of the 
Seven Heads of the Roman Beast, it is stated that they have a 
double interpretation ; that is, they represent the seven mountains on 
which Rome is situated ; and seven heads of government which 
have prevailed there. The seventh dynasty had not appeared when 
John saw the vision. When it was manifested, it was to continue in 
the seven-hilled city only " a short space." After this had passed 
away, and as history shows, 246 years after its entire destruction, an 
eighth head appeared in Rome. This was an outlying dynasty, 
thrusting itself in among the horns from a country lying beyond the 

' Dan. vii. 13, 14, 18, 22, 27. ' Rev. xvii. 11. 



Ill THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 301 

geographical limits of the old Roman territory. It was a dynasty 
growing out of a foreign country, and therefore styled " another 
Beast." Hence, the reason why it is written in the text referred to, 
" the Beast that was and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the 
seven, and goeth into perdition." This is also affirmed of the Ten- 
horned Beast, as well as of the Two-horned Beast, or Eighth Head ; 
because there is the same intimate connection between these two 
Beasts, or dominions, as that which exists between the Little Horn, 
and Seven Horns of the Greco-Roman Dragon. 

John was favored with a vision of u the wilderness" or territory 
of the Holy Roman Empire as it is styled. He saw it as it was in the 
first century after Christ. Then, the dominion which now exists 
there had no being. In spirit he viewed it as it would appear several 
centuries after when the dominion had arisen. It was then "the 
Beast that is f again, he saw the wilderness after the power had 
passed away ; he then speaks of the dominion as " the Beast that 
was," and " the Beast that is not," because it will then have gone 
into perdition. We can now say of the holy Roman Beast " it is ;" 
and from present appearances, shall be able to say in a few years, 
" it was and is ?wt f " because it is destroyed by " the burning flame." 

The Little Horn's character has been more obvious to interpreters 
than its constitution. In certain respects it is like the other Ten 
Horns. These were all secular dynasties. If they had individually 
possessed " eyes and a mouth," they would all have been episcopal 
and speaking Horns, like the Little Horn. But they possessed 
neither. They were simple horns, evincing power, secular, and not 
spiritual, in their operations. When eyes look more stout than 
existencies around them ; and their mouth speaks blasphemies against 
God, angels, and the saints, they become symbolical of ecclesiastical 
power; and inserted into a horn, they present a symbol which 
represents a conjunct dynasty ; that is, a dominion whose executive 
is imperial, and which is constituted, either of an imperial pontiffand 
a secular emperor, or of one Head in whom is vested the imperial 
administration both of secular and ecclesiastical affairs, as was the 
case with the pagan Roman emperors. 

The Little Horn of the Greco-Roman Dragon, or fourth beast, is 
a two-fold dynasty, or dominion. Its eyes and mouth represent one 
horn ; and the rest of the horn, another. The former is the over- 
seeing and blaspheming horn; the latter, the secular, or military 
horn, which co-operates with it, and does all the fighting. Hence, 
when we find the little horn fully developed, we may expect to 
discover two personages, who, through subsequent ages, are 
conspicuous as imperial chiefs of the western world. These, it is 
almost needless to add, are the pope and the emperor. 

OF THE SAINTS AND TWO WITNESSES. 

When the little horn appeared among the ten horns, Daniel was 
particularly struck by his blasphemous talking, and enmity against 
the saints of the Mot High. The mouth of this horn is evident 



302 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD. 

the same as the mouth of the ten-horned, and two-horned, beasts, of 
the apocalypse. 1 It was the mouth of a lion because of its roaring 
for prey, seeking whom it might devour; as well as for its Babylonish 
affinities. " It spake as a dragon," with the ferocity of the old 
pagan emperors against the saints. Describing this mouth, John 
says, " it spake great things and blasphemies against God, to 
blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in 
heaven. " These blasphemies Daniel styles " great words against the 
Most Hio"h," which of course were very offensive to the servants of 
God, and aroused their indignation. They " contended earnestly for 
the faith once delivered to the saints " against its blasphemies ; and 
advocated the liberty of the truth, the equality of the faithful, and 
the fraternity of the children of God. This brought down upon 
them the hatred and revenge of the popes, who stirred up all the 
horns of the beast against them, as it is written, " he made war 
upon them, and overcame them, and killed them." 

Daniel speaks of " the saints'' and of " the people of the saints'* 
I apprehend that there is the same distinction to be drawn here, as 
between " a Jew inwardly" and " a Jew outwardly." " The 
saints " is a term which includes them both ; even as " Israel " 
includes both the natural, and believing, seed of Abraham. 

Because a person is one of the saints it does not therefore follow that 
he is a righteous man. This is clear from the fact, that the twelve 
tribes as a company of nations are termed " the Lord's witnesses ;" con- 
cerning whom he says, " this people have I formed for myself; they 
shall show forth my praise." They are styled " a holy nation," or a 
nation separated from all other nations by a divine constitution by 
which they are made the people of God. "Now this " holy nation " 
has proved itself to be " a stiffnecked and perverse race ;" nevertheless 
it is "holy," or separate, on the same principle that the temple, 
Jerusalem, the land, &c, are holy. 

But pagan nations are sometimes termed holy, or sanctified. 
Hence, the Lord says, " I have commanded my sanctified ones, I 
have also called my mighty ones for mine anger, &c. They come 
from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the Lord and the 
weapons of his indignation to destroy the whole land." This is from 
a prophecy against Chaldea. c These saints are declared to be the 
Medes and Persians who were pagan nations associated together in 
the overthrow of the Babylonian dynasty. " I will stir up the 
Medes against them, who shall not regard silver ; and as for gold 
they shall not delight in it. Their bows also shall dash the young 
men in pieces ; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb ; 
their eye shall not spare childi*en." 2 

A class of persons separated in the providence of God to execute 
any work for him, are his sanctified ones, irrespective of their moral 
relations to the gospel. They are designated in scripture by various 
names. They are styled witnesses, prophets, olive trees, candlesticks, 
as well as saints ; because they are exercised in these several capaci- 
ties. They may have to bear witness for civil and religious liberty \ 

' Rev. iiil > Isaiah xiii. 3, 17, IB. 



IX THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 303 

to preach against the lion-mouth and his clergy ; to stand forth as a 
lamp before God to enlighten the nations of the earth, &c. ; they may 
discharge all these functions, and yet be neither believers of the gospel 
of the kingdom, nor even " pious " as the term is. This class of 
people may be found figuring largely in the history of all European 
nations. They are the hostile party to the beast in all " religious 
wars," and wars for liberty against the despotism of popes, emperors, 
kings, and priests. In these sanguinary wars their uniform has 
been sackcloth ; yet they have devoured their enemies with fire and 
sword, and smitten the earth with all the plagues of war as often as 
they pleased. With various fortune have they combatted with the 
tyrants of the world. Cromwell u tormented them who dwelt in" 
England and drew the sword for the " right divine of kings to govern 
wrong ;" he struck terror into those in Ireland who worshipped the 
beast, and devoured them with fire and brimstone from the cannon's 
mouth. In France, the Hougonots did good service against the 
beast. They shut up the political heaven, and suffered not the rain 
of peace to descend upon Piedmont, and the south, where the blood 
of Albigenses, and Waldenses, was crying out from the ground, like 
Abel's, for vengeance upon those who dwelt upon the earth. But, 
however successful for a season, they were destined to succumb for a 
while ; as it is written, in Daniel, "the little horn made war with the 
saints, and prevailed against them : Until the Ancient of Days 
came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High : and 
the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom." Now, it must 
not be forgotten that, by reason of the Little Horn's empire compre- 
hending the three subjugated horns, it is a part of the* ten-horned 
apocalyptic beast as well as the independent horns ; therefore what is 
affirmed of it, is also affirmed of the beast as a whole including its 
mouth and horns. Hence, John writes the same thing of the ten- 
horned beast, and of the two-horned beast, and the image of the 
former beast's imperial head, that Daniel does of the Little Horn, 
saying, " the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit," or sea, 
" shall make war upon them, and shall overcome them, and kill 
them ;"* and in another place, the ten-horned "shall make war with 
the saints, and overcome them ;" 2 and again, the two-horned beast 
" causeth them that dwell in the earth to do homage to the (imperial 
head of the) first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he 
causeth those that dwell upon the earth to err through the deeds it 
was given him to do against the beast ; saying to them that dwelt 
on the earth that they should make an Image of the Beast, which had 
the wound by a sword and did live. And it was given to him to give 
breath (ttvevho) to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast 
should both speak, and cause as many as would not adore (Vpos/cumjo-coon, 
from irpos and Kwzta to crouch, to fawn ; to kiss ; adore by prostra- 
tion, kissing, or otherwise : hence of the Popes, quos creant, adorant, 
whom they create they adore) the image of the beast, that they be 
hilled. And he caused all, the small and the great, the rich and the 
poor, the free and the bond, that a sign (x a P a 7^ a f mark, or sign^ 

' Rev. xi. 7, ' Rev. xiii. 7. 



304 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

should be made upon them on their right hand, or upon their fore- 
head : that no man might be qualified (6uv?jxai be able f in a moral 
sense) to buy or sell, except he have the sign, or the name of the 
beast, or the number of his name." 

Now it is the saints who refuse to adore the imperial Roman image, 
or Eves and Mouth of the Little Horn ; and who have not the 
sign j upon their foreheads, or in their right hands. These are the 
parties whom the image has caused war to be made upon, and who 
have been prevailed against, and killed with all the attendant enormi- 
lies of promiscuous massacre. The slaughter of the Albigenses in 
Languedoc ; of the Vaudois in the valleys of the Piedmontese moun- 
tains, in the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries ; and of the Hougonots 
on St. Bartholomew's, and at the revocation of the edict of Nantes ; 
the dragonnades, drownings, &c, are instances of the cruelties 
inflicted upon the saints by the roaring lion of the " eternal city." 
In the face of these teeming testimonies of history, the special pleaders 
of the papacy have the hardihood and effrontery to declare that the 
Head of their church has put none to death ; that their church is the 
pure, sinless, spouse of Christ ! But the spirit denounces it as "drunk 
with the blood of the saints," because, in stirring up the secular 
powers to murder and massacre the opponents of Romanism and the 
advocates of human rights, it has "caused the saints to be hilled;" 
and become so dyed in wickedness, and steeped in crime, that its 
iniquity hath at last reached unto heaven, and the burning flame of 
war is consuming and destroying it unto the end. 

But, says the apostle, " the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, 
but spiritual." In his letter to the Ephesians, 1 he enumerates them 
as the girdle of truth, the breast-plate of righteousness, the prepara- 
tion of the gospel of peace for sandals, the shield of faith, the helmet 
of salvation, and the sword of ihe spirit which is the word of God. 
This is the "whole armor of God " which "the people of the- saints" 
are permitted to use. The two-edged sword of the spirit is the only 
offensive weapon they are allowed to wield in combat with the Beast. 
The impulses of the flesh would lead them to crush the tyrants who 
have drenched the earth with their blood, and to bruiie their heads 
like serpents; but their Captain has said, " vengeance is mine, I will 
repay." It is the impulse of the flesh, hostile to the truth of God, 
which urges the Beast to war against those who adhere to that truth. 
The people of the saints are forbidden to act under such an impulse ; 
but to imitate Jesus, who resisted not, but committed his cause to 
God. Unresisting suffering is the law of their spiritual warfare. 
If persecuted they must fly ; if smitten, they must not smite again ; 
if reviled, they must bless ; but withal " fight the good fight of 
faith" with the word of God, without favor, affection, or compro- 
mise, with any thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of 
God. 

But this may be thought to be a contradiction of what has been 
said about the saints inflicting the plagues of war as often as they 
pleased. How can they do this unless they contend in battle against 

• Bph. vi. 14. 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 305 

the Beast ? The answer is that the antipapal instrumentality of God 
in the earth consists of three classes of persons; two of these classes 
are politico 1 ; but the third is that class spoken of by the apostle as 
his brethren. The prophecy of the two witnesses is concerning two 
great parties in the ten-horned beast's dominion, which antagonize it 
in its civil and ecclesiastical policy. One party is purely secular, and 
styled " the earth/' or democracy ; the other party is " religious" 
and termed " the woman" The mission of these is to make war 
upon tyranny, and to take vengeance upon it, and finally to be the 
means, or occasion, of breaking it up in its ten-horned and papal 
constitution. " The earth," or secular witness, .is the helper of " the 
woman," or religious witness. They have co-operated since the reigu 
of Constantine more or less intimately until the present time ; theii 
co-operation consisting in a determined hostility to state-churchism, 
and to its monarchical allies. They are both more or less republican 
in their principles. " The earth " especially is animated by a hatred 
of oppressors. Its spirit in all ages has shown itself in a terrible 
form. It is ferocious as the tiger, but it is a ferocity which is required 
by the nature of the work assigned it. The civil and ecclesiastical 
tyranny it has to combat, which is itself horribly terrific and blas- 
phemous against God and his truth, must be encountered by a spirit 
as fierce. In history, we see it exhibited in the Cireumcellions of 
the first century of its operations, in the men of Munster of the 
sixteenth, the Camisards of the seventeenth, the Terrorists of the 
eighteenth, and the Red Republicans, socialists, &c, of the nineteenth. 
Like God's " sanctified ones, the Medes," the heart of " the earth" 
is steel, and its eye unpitying. It is ready to dash out the brains of 
sucklings, to spoil the property of the rich, and to reduce the social 
fabric of the Beast to its elemental chaos. Its political representa- 
tive in Europe is "the mountain" in the French legislature; a 
body of men who are the abomination and terror of the Jesuit-priest- 
party throughout the world. 

"The woman" is constituted of heterogeneous sects. " Dissent" 
and " non-conformity " are terms which define the religious witness 
in this country. In France she is styled " Calvinist." Her tenden- 
cies are republican, as illustrated in the Cromwellian commonwealth, 
and in the constitution of the United States of America, which was 
the conjoint work of * the earth '' and " the woman" This great 
religious witness is made up of an infinite variety of factions, whose 
contempt of popes, emperors, kings, priests, and aristocrats, is pro- 
found ; yet, with all their hatred, they conscientiously repudiate the 
excesses of " the earth" or secular witness. These two witnessing 
parties, however, are of one theory, which is death to tyranny, if not 
to tyrants ; and in some sense, or other, rally around the standard of 
" liberty, equality, and fraternity ; v three principles which are utterly 
destructive of the dominion of the Little Horn, and its less audacious 
fellows of the Roman Beast. 

But there is a third party which, although it has the deep rooted 
enmity of truth against every form of Satanism in church and state, 
papal and protestant ; and wishes success to the Two Witnesses in 

V 



306 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

their war with civil and ecclesiastical tyranny, yet it is distinct from 
them both. It is that party described by the apostle in the passage 
above quoted. It is composed of the saints of God in the highest 
sense of the word. It is the One Body of Christ, having the one 
faith, the one hope, one Lord, one spirit, one baptism, and one God 
and Father. 1 It is styled " the holy city " in the apocalypse ; 2 and is 
trodden under foot of the Gentiles for forty-two months of years, 
which do not end till the Ancient of Days appears. It is by this 
class that " the faith once for all delivered to the saints" is preserved 
from being entirely lost. In the twelfth of Revelation they are 
termed " the remnant of the Woman's seed, who keep the command- 
ments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." They are 
a people who believe the gospel of the kingdom of God and the 
things of Christ's name as set forth in " the law and the testimony ;" 
for " the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of the prophecy." They 
are also an immersed people ; for they keep the commandments of 
God as well as believe his word. It is their mission to " contend 
earnestly for the faith." Hence, they come into collision with all 
parties; being antagonist to "every high thought that exalts itself 
again&t the knowledge of God," whether entertained by the enemv. 
or by the witnesses, who torment him with their insurrections, or with 
their prophesyings in behalf of civil and religious liberty. 

Such, then, is the antagonism ordained of God to keep the Beast, 
or European governments, in check, and to preserve the light of truth 
and liberty from extinction among the nations. It is to this agency 
the world is indebted for the little liberty it rejoices in. This has 
been conquered from the Beast at a great cost of human life. The 
United States of America is a specimen of its handy work; and, but 
for the incurable condition of society in the old world by human 
efforts, as happy a state of things would ere this have been established 
on the European continent, as in some degree hath been in this island. 
The Roundheads, Puritans, and Lollards, or bible-men, laid the foun- 
dation of American institutions on the soil of Britain. They success- 
fully resisted the encroachments of an Act of Parliament-religion on 
the rights of men ; and by contending for the Bible (without very- 
well understanding it themselves) in opposition to human authority in 
religion, gave an impulse to the minds of men, which ill the powers 
emanating from the " bottomless pit," can no longer prevail against, 
or control. But, while the liberty provided by the constitution of the 
United States, and practically enjoyed in England, is much to be 
appreciated by the people of these respective countries-, there are but 
few of them who have tasted the sweets of that liberty which dwells 
in " the Holy City." " If the truth shall make you free," says 
Christ, " ye shall be free indeed." So long as a people practically 
venerate a professional ministry, whether in the pay of the State, or 
of the people to preach what pleases them more than " the law and 
the testimony ;" so long as they are ignorant and faithless of " the 
•hinge concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus 
Christ," and glorify themselves in religious systems, which nowhere 

» Eph. iT *-tf. » Rer. xi. 2. 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 30? 

on the sacred page meet the eye of the unbiassed student of God's 
word; so long as their pulpits are closed against men who would 
reason with the people out of the scriptures " concerning righteous- 
ness, and temperance, and judgment to come," irrespective of party 
shibboleths and decrees : — -so long are they strangers to the liberty, 
equality, and fraternity, which belong to the truth of God alone. 
The eye of faith sees the fairest spots of earth veiled in thick dark- 
ness. Its hope is not in " the earth ;" for man can neither regenerate 
himself, nor society. Any organization of the world, fabricated by 
human wisdom, must perish ; for men have neither knowledge, wis- 
dom, nor virtue, enough, to build a social fabric conducive to the honor 
and glory of God; or, to the general happiness of mankind in their 
several relations of life. Our hope is «in the Ancient of Days. 
" The earth " may " help the Woman," and consume the dominions 
of the Horns ; but the Son of Man can alone deliver the holy city, 
crush the Dragon's head, and reconstitute society to the glory of 
God, and the happiness of all the families of mankind. 

When the remnant ceased to " contend earnestly for the faith once 
delivered to the saints," " the earth " began to fail in its efforts to 
establish civil and religious liberty in the countries where " t.he 
remnant of the woman's seed " had witnessed for the truth so long. 
The reactionists on the side of arbitrary power began to prevail 
against both classes of witnesses, and the holy city ; and to succeed in 
re-establishing what they call " order ; " that is, such a state of 
society as existed in France from A.D. 1685 to 1789, or in England 
under Charles II. ; or of which we have more recent illustrations in 
the case of France under Louis XVIII. ; and Charles X ; and of Italy 
under Austria and the pope, &c, in 1815 ! It is the "order " estab- 
lished by Satan, when he triumphs over the rights of men, and the 
truth and righteousness of the untraditionized gospel of the kingdom 
of God. Satan's adherents sigh for that "order" in church and 
state, which will enable them to increase their power, augment their 
earthly treasures for the gratification of their lusts, and perpetuate 
their grinding and debasing tyranny over the nations. For a time 
they appear to triumph. Indeed, their ascendancy is permitted in 
the wisdom of God ; but its limited continuance is expressly revealed. 
The champions of " order " are destined to preserve their ascendancy 
until, not " the earth," but the Lord Jesus Christ shall appear in 
power, and gloriously accomplish what " the saints " have hitherto 
been unable to effect. It is because of this permitted ascendancy of 
the dynasties of the world for 1280 years, that the popular insurrections 
in the territories of the Beasts and their image, have been invariably 
superseded by reactions, which have re-established the reign of 
tyranny, hypocrisy, and superstition. Even the torment with fire 
and brimstone in war, inflicted by Napoleon on the guilty dynasties 
which had murdered the saints in past ages, at length receded before 
the resuscitation of the old order of things, which this man of the 
earth had so signally demolished. But what Napoleon failed 
permanently to accomplish will as assuredly come to pass, as there is 
a God in heaven who punishes the guilty. We rejoice in this 

v 2 



308 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD. 

assurance ; and though we see reaction again showing its fiendish 
and hypocritical face, and hear it complacently hymning its ap- 
proaching triumph over the enemies of the image and the beasts, 
which support his blasphemy against God and his saints, we know 
that its final struggle is approaching by which it will be for ever 
deprived of place, and power to " destroy the earth." 

Of the witnesses and holy city, without discriminating them, 
Reinerius, the inquisitor-general, who shed their blood, writes thus 
concerning them as a whole. " Among all the sects which are, or 
have been, there is not any more pernicious to the church (i. e. of 
Rome) than that of the Leonists. And this for three reasons. The 
first is, because it is older ; for some say that it hath endured from 
the time of Pope Sylvester ^(fourth century) others from the time of 
the apostles. The second, because it is more general, for there is 
scarce any country wherein the sect is not. The third, because when 
all other sects beget horror in the hearers by the outrageousness of 
their blasphemies against God, this of the Leonists have a great shew 
of piety ', because they live justly before men, and believe all things 
rightly concerning God, and all the articles which are contained in 
the creed ; only they blaspheme the church of Home and the clergy, 
whom the multitude of the laity is easy to believe." 

"The causes of their estrangement, says Acland, from the Roman 
church are thus stated. t It is because the men and women, the 
young and old, the laborer and the learned man, do not cease 
to instruct themselves ; because they have translated the Old and 
New Testaments into the vulgar tongue, and learn these books by 
heart, and teach them ; because if scandal be committed by any one, 
it inspires them with horror, so that when they see any one leading 
an irregular life, they say to him, the apostles did not live so, nor 
should we who would imitate the apostles : in short they look upon 
all that a teacher advances, unsupported by the New Testament, as 
fabulous." • It is with such people as these my sympathies are found ; 
and it is to multiply such in the world that I write this book. If the 
reader would be numbered with this class of witnesses, he must 
"instruct himself" by the study of the word; he must cease to 
surrender himself to the clergy of church or dissent ; but treat all 
their hypotheses " as fabulous" unsupported by the law and the 
testimony : for "the scriptures are able to make us wise unto salvation 
through the faith which is in Christ Jesus." i What more do we 
want than to be saved in the kingdom of God ? Ask the clergy, 
" what you must do to be saved ? " They will repeat like parrots, 
" Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved ; " but 
ask them, " What does believing on the Lord Jesus for salvation 
consist in ? " and I hesitate not to say — indeed, with the preceding 
pages as my premises, which I firmly believe to be the only scriptural 
exegesis of the gospel, I am necessitated to say, they cannot tell. 
Then, like the Leonists of old, away with the the clergy, the " blind 
leaders of the blind," " dumb-dogs that cannot bark," " who neither 
enter into the kingdom themselves, and them who would they hinder." 

» 2 Tim. iii 15, 16. 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF QOD. 309 

" All scripture given by inspiration of God is profitable for teaching, 
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness : that the 
man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good 
works." l Here, Paul teaches, that the scriptures can make a man 
perfect in all these things ; how perverse then of mankind to neglect 
this instrument of perfection, and to lean upon such broken reeds ; 
the Leonists, Paulicians, Albigenses, Waldenses, &c, had more 
wisdom than this. They drank from the fountain head of truth ; 
and it was only in later times, when their minds were diverted from 
this by the dazzling demonstrations of the protesting Romanists, 
who, under their early leaders, were rebelling against the pope, and 
laying the foundation of state religions in Germany, England, &c, 
that they were ensnared in the toils of mercenaries. They merged 
into protestantism, and thus an extinguisher was placed upon their 
lamp, which for 1260 years had illuminated the darkness around. 

A writer on prophecy has well remarked, that '• there is no nation 
existing which, first and last, has produced such a number of faithful 
witnesses against papal corruptions, and tyrannies, as France. No 
people have so long a list of martyrs and confessors to show as the 
Hougonots of that country ; and there is no ro} r ai family in Euroj e 
which has shed in the support of popery, half the blood which tl e 
Capets have shed. Who deluged the earth with the blood of the 
Waldenses and Albigenses that inhabited the southern parts of France, 
and bore testimony against the corruptions and usurpations of Rome? 
The cruel kings of France slew above a million of them. Who 
set on foot, and headed, the executioners of the massacre of 
Bartholomew in 1572, which lasted seven days, and in which some 
say, near 50,000 Hougonots were murdered in Paris, and 25,000 
more in the provinces ? The royal monsters of France. A massacre 
this, in which neither age nor sex, nor even women with child, were 
spared ; for the butchers had received orders to slaughter all, even 
babes at the breast, if they belonged to the Hougonots. The king 
himself stood at the windows of his palace, endeavouring to shoot 
those who fled, and crying to their pursuers, ' kill them, kill them ! ' 
For this massacre public rejoicings were made at Rome, and in other 
papal countries. A medal was struck at Rome commemorative of 
this tragical event. In the words of the apocalypse, l they that 
dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and 
shall send gifts one to another ; because these two prophets tormented 
those who dwelt on the earth.' " 2 

This dreadful massacre was 1260 years from the separation estab- 
lished between State-church christians, and the remnant of the 
Woman's seed. In 312 — 3, the man-child was born of the Woman 
as the military chieftain destined to cast the pagan dragon out of the 
Roman heaven. A great revolution w r as consummated. The world's 
religion was changed ; and the foundation laid for that awful despo- 
tism in church and state, which has made all the families of the earth 
to wail. Constantine and his successors " ruled the nations with a 
rod of iron ; " and united in adulterous alliance, an ' apostasy from 

• 2 Tim. fix 15, 10. * Hev. xi. 10. 



310 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WOHLD 

apostolic Christianity to the kingdom of the world. Thus, a ^tanic 
system was established, which persecuted all " who kept the com- 
mandments of God, and had the testimony of Jesus Christ." 1 The 
troubles of the witnesses commenced with the institution of state 
Christianity; and they will not cease until every state religion is 
abolished from the earth. 

This Bartholomew massacre of 157*2, marks the epoch of the 
terminating of the testimony of the two witnesses. From 1572 till 
1685 was a period of war, during which unnumbered thousands fell 
in defence of their civil and religious rights. The war was waged 
with various fortune on both sides. At first, the Hougonots were so 
far successful, that their valour and devotedness raised their leader, 
Henry of Navarre, to the throne of France. Though a Hougonot, 
he could not withstand the temptation of an earthly crown, for which 
he changed sides, and professed himself a papist. He could not, 
however, forget his companions in arms, but granted them in 1598 
the celebrated edict of Nantes. This charter accorded to them the 
right to celebrate their worship in every place in which they were 
resident previous to the year 1597. It permitted them to publish 
books in certain towns, to convene their synods, to open academies 
and schools for the education of youth, and to fill public offices. It 
also gave to them a number of cities as cautionary towns, or pledges 
of security, with the privilege of keeping them garrisoned, and levy- 
ing taxes on their own account. Thus there was a little state within 
the state. The Romanists and Hougonots were like two armies, or 
two nations, in view of each other. They had concluded a treaty of 
peace, in which the king himself was the mediator; and it was 
necessary that each of the contracting parties should obtain their 
guarantees for the future. This singular state of things resulted from 
the violation of their engagements by the papists ; and from the priests 
inculcating the treacherous policy of not keeping faith with heretics. 

Henry IV. was assassinated in 1610, by Ravaillac, a fanatic of 
the Jesuit order. Upon this, troubles immediately recommenced 
between the warlike Hougonots and papists. The former were con- 
quered ; they lost all their strong holds ; and in 1 628, Rochelle, their 
last bulwark, fell into the hands of Cardinal Richlieu. Thus dis- 
appeared in this kingdom of the Beast their power to " devour their 
enemies by fire proceeding out of their (cannon) mouth." 2 They 
had no longer " power to shut heaven that it should not rain ;" nor 
could they any more turn the waters of Piedmont, and the depart- 
ments of France, into blood, and smite the earth with the plague of 
war "as often as they willed." Their political power was gone, and 
their affairs grew worse and worse, until their total wreck in the 
reign of Louis XIV. 

" Soon after he came to the crown," says Mr. Claude, " there 
arose in the kingdom a civil war, which proved so sharp and despe- 
rate, as brought the state within a hair's breadth of utter ruin. Those 
of the reformed religion still kept their loyalty so inviolable, and 
accompanied it with such a zeal, and with a favor so extraordinary, 

I Eev. xii. 7—9 ; I*. *< Rev. xi. 5. 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 311 

and so successful, that the king found himself obliged to give public 
marks of it by a declaration made at St. Germains in the year 1652. 
Then as well at Court as in the armies, each strove to proclaim 
loudest the merits o£ the reformed.'' Now, however commendable 
Mr. Claude and others may deem them on account of this loyalty, 
the simple import of the matter is, that their devotion to Louis XIV. 
proved that their testimony was finished. Instead of standing aloof, 
and testifying against the despotism of church and state, and " con- 
tending earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints ; " their 
pastors and congregations had sunk down into the formalism of Calvi- 
nism ; and actually drew the sword for a horn, or dynasty, of the 
very Beast, which had " made war against the saints" with all the 
attendant cruelty of massacre, rapine, and ravishment ; and which 
was destined finally to " kill them." Calvinists in the imperio-papal, 
and royal, armies, of the Beasts and their horns, have forfeited all 
claims to divine favor as his witnesses of either class. Their mission 
is ended, and the sentence of death rests upon them. In about thirty 
years after this fatal demonstration of loyalty to the monster of the 
sea, God permitted their enemies to destroy them. 

Moved by the Jesuits, who flattered his pride by persuading him, 
that for him was reserved the glory of re-establishing religious unity 
in his dominions, Louis XIV. determined to accomplish the suppres- 
sion of HougODotism in France. The plan was arranged in the spirit 
of Jesuitism, and pursued with dreadful perseverance. Referring to 
their new-born zeal for the Bourbon dynasty, their enemies said, " if 
on this occasion the Hougonots could preserve the state, this shows 
likewise that they could have overthrown it ; this party must therefore 
by all means be crushed." Hence, Louis, and the abettors of the 
tyranny, immediately set about it. " A thousand dreadful blows," 
says M. Saurin, " were struck at our afflicted churches before that 
which destroyed them : for our enemies, if I may use such an expres- 
sion, not content with seeing our ruin, endeavoured to taste it." They 
were persecuted in every imaginable way. They were excluded from 
the king's household ; from all employments of honor and profit ; 
all the courts of justice, erected by virtue of the edict of Nantes, 
were abolished, so that in all trials their enemies only were their 
judges, and in all the courts of justice the cry was, " I plead against 
a heretic ;" "I have to do with a man of a religion odious to the 
state, and which the king is resolved to extirpate." 

" Orders were printed at Paris, and sent from thence to all the 
cities and parishes of the kingdom, which empowered the parochial 
priests, churchwardens, and others, to make an exact inquiry into 
whatever any of the reformed might have done, or said, for twenty 
years past, as well on the subject of religion as otherwise ; to make 
information of this before the justices of the peace, and punish them 
to the utmost extremity. Thus the prisons and dungeons were every- 
where filled with these pretended criminals ; orders were issued, 
which deprived them in general of all sorts of offices and employ- 
ments, from the greatest to the smallest, in the farms and revenues; 
they were declared incapable of exercising any employ in the custom- 



312 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WOItl.D 

house?, guards, treasury, or post-office, or even to be in essenge r?, 
stage coachmen, or waggoners. Now a college was suppressed, and 
then a church shut up, and at length they were forbid to worship in 
public at all by the revocation of the edict of Nantes in 16^5." 
llude popish missionaries, without learning, or decency, went from 
house to house, for the purpose of inducing them to abjure their 
religion ; they interrupted the preachers ; and, if the congregation 
forcibly ejected tliem, they complained to the magistrate, who seized 
the opportunity thus presented to suppress the meeting-bouse. 

*' Consciences were bought up like articles of merchandize. 
Pastors were forbidden to preach beyond the places in which they 
resided under penalty of several years imprisonment. Children of 
tender age were authorized to embrace popery in spite of the opposi- 
tion of their parents ; who, without regard to rank, condition, or 
merit, were declared unworthy to serve the state. 

M The great majority continued stedfast. Promises of wealth and 
honors, seductions, artifices, threats, failed to shake their constancy : 
so that their persecutors resorted to the still more energetic measures, 
commonly known as the dkagonnades. 

" These were a species of punishment unthought of by the Inquisi- 
tion. Profligate and merciless soldiers were sent into the houses of 
the Hougonots. They had orders to resort to every method except 
assassination to convert their victims to papalism ! They laid waste 
their property, destroyed their household goods, treated mothers, 
wives, and maidens, in an infamous manner, brutally struck the men ; 
and, by a refinement of cruelty, hindered them from taking an hour's 
rest until they had signed a derisive abjuration. Some crushed 
beneath such accumulated sufferings, lost their reason; others, led 
away by despair, suffered death by their own hands. The Dragon- 
nades still live in the memory of Frenchmen, as a fearful and horrible 
memento of by-gone days. But even these atrocities were insufficient 
to consummate the conversion of the Hougonots to Romanism. 

"In 1685, as we have said, Louis the Fourteenth, signed the 
revocation of the edict of Nantes. The preamble of this ordinance 
made the king say, ' We now see, with the gratitude we owe to God, 
that our endeavors have had the result which we proposed, since the 
best and greatest portion of our subjects of the pretended reformed 
religion have embraced the Catholic faith.' But this did not express 
the truth. Hundreds of thousands emigrated from France, to seek 
asylums in foreign lands; into every part of Europe ; and from the 
Cape of Good Hope to the American wilderness, they carried their 
faith, industry, laborious habits, and their example; and besides these, 
two millions remained in the land of their birth, who persevered 
in their opinions beneath the sword of the executioner, and in the 
sight of the fires of martyrdom. 

'* Those who had not quitted France were in the most deplorable 
condition. Deprived of their leaders, and having no regular means 
of religious instruction, pursued like rebels, they met at distant 
intervals, in some wild retreat. When they were surprized, the 
soldiers fired on them, as if they had been ferocious animals. Thou- 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 313 

sands of poor victims were condemned to the galleys, and were there 
confounded with the vilest wretches. Others were hung, beheaded, 
or burned. If a dying man, moved to remorse, disavowed in his 
last moments the popish religion, to which he had conformed during 
his life, his dead body was dragged through the streets by the hang- 
man, and was afterwards cast into a receptacle for filth, like the car- 
cass of an unclean beast." — Abridg. of G. De Felice. 

Speaking of the revocation, M. Saurin says, " Now we were 
banished, then we were forbidden to quit the kingdom, on pain of 
death. Here we saw the glorious rewards of those who betrayed 
their religion ; and there we beheld those who had the courage to 
confess it, haled to a dungeon, a scaffold, or a galley. Here, we saw 
our persecutors drawing on a sledge the dead bodies of those who had 
expired on the rack : there we beheld a false friar tormenting a dying 
man, who was terrified on the one hand with the fear of hell if he 
apostatized; and on the other, with the fear of leaving his children 
without bread, if he should continue in the faith." "They cast 
some," says M. Claude, " into large fires, and took them out when 
they were half roasted ; they hanged others with ropes under their 
arm-pits, and plunged them several times into wells till they -promised 
to renounce their religion ; they tied them like criminals on the rack, 
and poured wine with a funnel into their mouths till being intoxicated 
they promised to turn Catholics. Some they slashed and cut with 
pen-knives ; some they took by the nose with red hot tongs, and led 
them up and down the rooms till they agreed to turn Catholics. 
These cruel proceedings made 800,000 persons quit the kingdom." 

Thus, Oct. 18, 1685, became the epoch of the death of the wit- 
nesses. The war had been long, but the Beast subdued them at last. 
The voice of testimony against papalism in church and state was 
silenced. The stillness of death pervaded, not France only, but 
Europe likewise; and if I were called upon to point out the darkest 
period of Bible Christianity from the time of Ccnstantine to the 
present time, I should point to the interval from the revocation of the 
edict of Nantes to the breaking out of the French Revolution in 
1789. During this time the holy city was laid low, and the symbolic 
witnesses lay dead, though unburied. Their lamps were extin- 
guished, and " before the God of the earth " there was no light ; no 
Uluminati ; none to torment them that dwelt upon the earth with a 
faithful testimony against tyranny and state religion. Everything 
was sunk into cold formality, and the Beasts 1 and their Image 1 were 
triumphant everywhere. 

' Rev. xiii. 1, 11,15. 



314 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 



CHAPTER II. 

The Sin-power in its war against the seed of the woman in the west, symbolized by 
the Beasts and their Image— God will surely avenge his saints— The crimes for 
which the nations are being judged, stated— The geography of the " Lake of 
Fire" where the judgment sits— The saints the executioners of the Little Horn— 
They are raised from political death for this purpose — Events connected with their 
resurrection — The three days and a half of their unburied state, explained — Their 
ascension — End of 1260 years— Of the time of the Beast -Diagram — Of the 
1335 years. 



The fourth beast of Daniel's vision ; the ten-horned, and two-horned, 
beasts ; and the image of the sixth head of the ten-horned beast, are 
so many different symbols, which represent the Sin-power in its 
European constitution. The apocalyptic beasts and their image are 
introduced into the thirteenth chapter of Revelation to represent cer- 
tain things in relation to the Little Horn, to its Eyes, and to its 
Mouth, which could not have been set forth in the symbol of the 
Roman dominion seen by Daniel. In this prophet, the Eyes of the 
Little Horn are said to be "like the eyes of a man," which gave it 
" a look more stout than its fellow horns." Of the mouth it is said, 
that " it spake very great things," which were " words against the 
Most High ;" and that " because of the voice of these great words," 
consumption and final destruction came upon the whole beast. This 
is the nearest approach the Eyes and Mouth make to that order of 
men called the popes. They are represented as an audacious and 
blasphemous power, " wearing out the saints of the Most High, and 
changing times and laws ;" and concerning the saints, it is added, 
"they were given into his hand until a time, times, and the dividing 
of time." Under a new symbol some additional information is given 
respecting the Eyes and Mouth in the exercise of their power, &c. 
They are inserted into an image, which is said to resemble that head 
of the ten-horned beast which had been wounded in its power, throne, 
and jurisdiction, over the third part of the Roman world. 1 This was 
the sixth, or imperial, head. Hence, the Eyes and Mouth were part 
of an imperial Image. Now, when we look into the testimony, we 
find that it did not set up itself; but is the puppet of another power 
represented by a beast with two horns, which answers to the Little 
Horn itself, minus the Eyes. The Mouth of the Little Horn, of the 
two-horned, and of the ten-horned, Beasts, is common to the three 
symbols ; it is mouth to them all. It is said to be like the mouth of 
a dragon; hence it is Roman and Imperial — the speaking organ of 
the three. Now the same things are affirmed of it by John as by 
Daniel. He says, 4< It speaks £reat things and blasphemies against 
God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell 
in the heaven." And then it is added, that lt it was given to him to 
make war with the saints, and to overcome them." It also continues 

i Rev. viii. 12. xiii. 8, 14, 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 315 

the same length of time, which is expressed by " forty-two mor.ths " 
instead of by " time, times, and dividing of time ;" for it is clear 
that as long as the beast lives so long will its mouth continue to 
speak. 

Now in the exercise of the power given to it, the imperial, or papal 
image, spoke, and in consequence of its speaking it caused all to be 
killed who would not do homage to it, It also caused all its subjects 
to be marked with the sign of a cross " in their right hand " in 
ordination, and " on their foreheads " in paidorhantism ; and unless 
a man had this mark he would not permit him to " buy or tell" as a 
spiritual soul-merchant in his bazars. 

The symbols of this chapter of revelation, it may also be remarked, 
represent the Gentiles in their civil and ecclesiastical constitution, who 
tread down the holy city. 1 This is evident from the testimony, that 
the beast with its ten horns and mouth of a lion, possessed " power 
over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations." From what has been 
advanced the reader will then perceive, that two parties are represented 
which are antagonists, namely, the saints and the sin-power. Hence, 
he has before him a symbolical exhibition of the sentence upon the 
serpent, saying, " I will put enmity between thee and the woman, 
and between thy seed and her seed ; it shall bruise thy head, and 
thou shalt bruise his heel." The saints are marshalled on the side of 
the woman ; and their persecutors on the side of the serpent. The 
war has been long, fierce, and bloody ; but the saints' victory is 
certain, and the destruction of the beasts and their image inevitable 
and sure. 

In the previous chapter I have briefly sketched the cruelties 
practised by the Ten Horns, the Little Horn, and the ecclesiastical 
image, upon the witnesses and the holy city (called the saints in the 
aggregate) in all the countries in which they have appeared. France, 
and the " bloody house of Austria," have been pre-eminent in the 
strife. They are dyed in infamy of every kind, which they have 
enacted on the most virtuous of the human race. In all their deeds 
of fiendishness, they have been applauded by the archdemon of the 
papacy, who styles them his beloved sons, and the mercenary instru- 
ments of his cruelty, his " dear children." Does the reader suppose 
that the just and merciful Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, and of 
those who keep his commandments and have his testimony, hath 
looked on the fiendism of the sin-power with indifference ; and that 
he will permit their wrongs to die unavenged ? If he do, he has 
greatly mistaken God's character, and knows nothing at all of the 
awful judgments he has decreed against those who " bruise the heel " 
of his beloved. Did he judge Egypt for oppressing Israel though at 
the time idolators ; did he sink Sodom into the volcanic abyss for its 
crimes ; and did he punish Judah with pestilence, famine, sword, and 
scattering for eighteen centuries, because of unbelief of " the truth 
as it is in Jesus/' and for killing his servants — and will he not 
avenge his elect whom he hath chosen upon the demoniac powers 
which have continued to crush them ? The scripture saith, " Precious 

i Bev. si. 2 



316 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints ;" and " precious 
shall their blood be in his sight." If the blood of the murdered 
Abel, crying from the ground, was heard of God and avenged, what 
shall be said of that exceeding great and piercing cry, which upon the 
same principle, ascends to his throne from that ocean of blood which 
has been poured out like water from the hearts of his slaughtered 
saints ? Doth it not cry aloud to heaven against popes, emperors, 
kings, hypocritical and blaspheming priests, and their hordes of 
mercenaries j and against all ecclesiastical abettors of arbitrary power 
in church and state ? Yes, that voice, though unheard and unheeded 
by those who worship the beasts and their image, continually ascendeth, 
and hath " entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth," saying, 
" How long, O Lord, holy and true dost thou not judge and avenge 
our blood on them that dwell on the earth ? " 1 The hour has come, 
and the death-knell of the destroyer hath sent forth its clangor 
throughout the dominion of the Roman beast. As in the case of 
Sodom, though unseen by the eye of the flesh, God hath " come 
down to see if they have done altogether according to the cry." He 
has found it even so. " Their sins have reached unto heaven," there- 
fore, he will reward them double for all the evil with which they have 
afflicted his saints. 

Such, then, is the case before us. The great national crime has 
been committed, and perpetuated, of converting the truth of God into 
a lie, of blaspheming his name, and of bruising the heel of his saints. 
All nations are guilty of this, and as national offences can only, and 
must necessarily, be punished, by national judgments, retribution is 
pouring out upon them according to the word of the Lord. The 
outline I have sketched has brought us down to the epoch of the 
death of the two witnesses. Daniel beheld this, and at the same 
time received the information, that the Little Horn was to triumph 
over " the saints " to the end of the beast's life, which it arrives at by 
the end of 1260 years. This long period having elapsed, he beheld 
a sight, the knowledge of which must rejoice the heart of every one 
who sympathises in the award of justice to them who are oppressed. 
He saw a revolution in human affairs that completely reversed every 
thing that had previously existed. Instead of " the saints " being- 
worn out any longer, he saw the power of judgment given to them 2 
to take away the dominion of the Little Horn, a to slay the beast, 
and to destroy his body with the burning flame, " so that nothing 
represented by the symbol should be left. 

The territory which is to be the scene of this judgment is all that 
region comprehended in the Roman Dragon, and in the Austrian 
and German domain. By the Roman Dragon, I mean, the old 
Roman territory, extending from the Euphrates to the German 
Ocean, including Turkey, Italy, Switzerland, Roman Africa, and the 
other countries contained within the limits of the ten toe-kingdoms. 
Upon this territory, then, our attention must be fixed if we would 
discern the progress of the events by which the beast's destiny is 
fulfilled. He is to be destroyed by the burning flame. It is evident 

' Re*, vi. 10. ' Dan. rii, 82, 2G, 11. 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 317 

therefore that the territory of his dominion will be turned into a 
region of flame, in which the populations being everywhere insurgent, 
and contending with fire and sword against their oppressors, it will 
become " a lake of fire burning with brimstone." * Into this are 
cast alive the two-horned beast of the earth, and the image, which 
before the end of its existence is stripped of its imperial character, 
and reduced to the humbler dignity of a " prophet," and that a false 
one. 

What remains of this chapter will be occupied in explaining these 
words of the prophet, " The judgment shall sit, and they shall take 
away his dominion, to consume and destroy it unto the end." 2 The 
judgment sits upon the whole beast, and consists of slaying and 
burning. This distinction is preserved in the apocalypse ; for whilst 
the beast and false prophet are cast alive into a lake of fire ; " the 
remnant/' or the horns that remain, are " slain with the sword of 
him that sits upon the horse, which sword proceedeth out of his 
mouth." " With the breath of his lips will he slay the wicked." 
This implies a prolongation of existence to certain powers beyond 
that of the beast and false prophet. These will be totally destroyed 
by "the saints ;" but " the remnant" ere reserved for a future fate at 
the hand of the King of kings, and Lord of lords. Daniel makes 
the same distinction in the judgment of the fourth beast. Speaking 
of it as a whole, he says, " I beheld till the beast ?vas slain, and his 
vody given to the burning flame." The consuming affects the body ; 
and the destroying, u the remnant " of his political carcass by the 
sword. Turkey, and the Austro-papal, dominions, constitute the 
body and Little Horn of the beasts. These go into perdition first. 
They entirely disappear from among "the powers that be 5" as 
completely as a carcass cast into Nebuchadnezzar's furnace. After 
their fate is sealed, a power arises to conquer the toe, or horn-kingdoms, 
which are not suppressed, but made tributary to the conquering 
power ; and are incorporated as vassal kingdoms into his dominion ; 
and under his banner meet the Lord of hosts in battle in the plains 
of another Waterloo, called Armageddon, where both he and they 
are overcome, and lose their crowns for ever. 

Speaking of the Little Horn, or Austro-papal power, the prophet 
says, " they shall take away his dominion." Now the context shows 
that the agents indicated in "they" are u the saints" with whom 
the horn has contended so long. In the twenty second verse he says, 
" Judgment was given to the saints." Having received power to 
judge, what use did they make of it ? This is answered in the 
twenty-sixth verse — u to take away his dominion ; " and if a further 
inquiry be made, by what means ? The reply is, by consuming and 
destroying it with fire and sword. There is a fitness in this. The 
Austro-papacy has been established by fraud and violence ; and 
shored up to the end of its existence by murder. It has fattened on 
the blood of the two witnesses in all countries of its dominion ; and 
therefore the rule of the judgment is to " give them blood to drink 
for they are worthy." 3 This is the fate impending over Austria 

1 Rer, xix. 20, ' Dan. vii. 26. Her. zvi. 6. 



318 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

and all thrones which have given their power to execute the will of 
the Roman prophet. 

But to this some may object, how can the saints execute the judg- 
ment written 1 seeing that the Deast overcame them and killed them 
in the reign of Louis XIV? It is very certain that they cannot 
unless they are the subjects of a political resurrection ; and this the 
testimony affirms they should be. But before they rose from political 
death, they were to remain politically dead, but unburied, for three 
symbolic days and a half; after which the spirit of political life from 
God was to enter into them ; and in consequence they were to stand 
upon their feet, ascend to power, and strike terror into all their enemies 
who beheld them. 2 They were to lie dead and unburied "upon the 
broad way (etti t»js nrXaTua^ of the great city, which is figuratively 
called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified." Jesus 
was put to death in Judea ; but then Judea was a Roman province 
at the time, and therefore a part of "the great city," for all the 
Roman provinces were regarded merely as an extension of Rome 
which ruled over them, inasmuch as the Roman city was made 
coextensive with the empire by the edict of Caracalla. This empire, 
then, as a whole is figuratively designated by the spirit as Sodom and 
Egypt ; as Sodom, because of its filthiness, and as Egypt, because of 
its darkness ; and as Sodom and Egypt conjointly, because the fate 
of Sodom awaits Rome, and the judgments of Egypt, the nations 
that acknowledge its spiritual dominion. 

The ten horns of the Roman Dragon are ten parts of this great 
city ; the most ample of which, as will be seen by consulting a map 
of the Roman empire, is the realm of France. It is therefore styled 
" the broad way " by the spirit. Here the witnesses received their 
death blow, which was speedily followed by their political death in 
all other parts of the great city. Though politically dead, the 
witnesses were still visible, or unburied. The democracy and the 
Calvinists still existed in France; and democracy and dissent in 
England ; where thousands of the Hougonots found refuge ; but in 
all countries of the beast they were at zero in political affairs. In 
their exile from Europe, multitudes found an asylum in the American 
wilderness. There they mingled with their brethren, whose progenitors 
had expatriated themselves from Britain to escape the galling yoke of 
church and state toryism which was carrying itself with a high hand. 
Thus, by the tyranny of the beast, liberty and democracy were crushed 
in Europe, and simultaneously planted in American soil. But even 
there the witnesses were not permitted to rest ; for they lived in the 
other hemisphere, though dead in this. Home tyranny claiming the 
right to tax the unrepresented, the descendants of the Puritans and 
Hougonots resisted, and refused to pay. A profligate and extortionate 
government goaded them into insurrection, by which they became 
intitled to the honorable distinction of " rebels," and by their success, 
to that of " patriots." The struggle was between might against right. 
An arbitrary government demanded tribute, and an ignorant clergy, 
tithes ; and the democracy, religious and secular, gave them lead and 

1 Psalm, cxlix. 5—9. ' Rev. xi. 8—12. 



IN THEIR RELATION . O THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 319 

steel. This was the old fashion in which they had been accustomed 
to "devour their enemies" during their 1260 years contest with the 
beast. But the conflict was unequal; and but for the suicidal policy 
of one of its horns, the witnesses would have again been overcome. 
The liberty-hating, and the heretic-slaying, Bourbons, sent a fleet and 
army to enable "liberty, equality, and fraternity" to triumph ia 
America ! Not that they hated sectarism and democracy less than 
formerly, but that they hated England more. La Fayette and his 
companions, though scions of nobility, became the sons of freedom. 
Britain was check-mated ; and the model republic founded, and 
acknowledged by all the horns of the beast. There then, beyond the 
broad waters of the mighty deep, the tree of liberty, planted by the 
two prophets of human rights, spreads its ample and expanding 
branches, affording shade and shelter for the persecuted and oppressed 
of all nations, who may be fortunate enough to escape the "great 
iron teeth," and " brazen claws," of the all devouring monster of 
the sea. 

Peace being proclaimed, the French army returned to Europe in 
1783. This proved a refreshing breeze to the democracy of that 
kingdom. " Philosophers " were hard at work teaching the people 
to despise the superstition of Rome, and the creatures that fattened 
upon it. They miscalled it Christianity ; as if the religion of Christ 
had the remotest affinity to that of " Sodom and Egypt 1" But 
Romanism was the only view the people had of Christianity ; for there 
had been no testimony borne against it in France for ninety-eight 
years. The priests taught them that Romanism was the religion of 
the Bible, but would not permit them to look into it to see. Need 
one be surprised, then, that when the democracy arose to judgment, 
it should abolish such a Christianity as that which had destroyed 
them ; treat the Bible with contempt ; and even deny the existence of 
a God, who was supposed to sanction the falsehoods of Romanism, 
or to approve its hypocritical and licentious priests ? The liberalism 
of the American auxiliaries manifested itself soon after their return, 
in the appearance of an American party in French politics. The 
influence of this in connection with the scepticism of " the philoso- 
phers," became " the breath of (political) life from God." It entered 
into the unburied witnesses ; and " they stood upon their feet," ready 
for action. Thus they drew their first breath in the very city where 
they had received their death blow. 

A few words may be offered here respecting the time signified by 
" three days and a half" during which the two witnesses were 
deprived of political life. The apocalypse as a whole is a miniature 
representation of "the things which are, and the things which shall 
be hereafter j" 1 that is, of things in existence while John was in 
Patmos, and of things shortly to happen after he wrote, and until the 
setting up of the kingdom. Everything is exhibited on a smaller 
scale than the reality ; and the time of the symbols is in keeping 
with them. Thus, multitudes of witnesses are reduced to two j and 
the years of their prophesying, to days. It would have been a viola- 

1 Rer. i. 1, 19. 



320 KINGDOMS OP THE WORLD 

tion of the fitness of things to have made them testify for 1260 years, 
because this is far beyond the duration of human life, which is the 
rule of speaking in the case. So in indicating the time of their un- 
buried state, the real time must be expressed in accordance with the 
physical laws. A dead body might lie in the open air for "three 
days and a half " without disappearing ; but not three years and a 
half, or three months and a half. Hence, the symbol required the 
smallest possible period capable of 'expressing the real time- of their 
political non-existence ; and that is " three days and a half." 

Now the time that really elapsed between their death, on Oct. 18, 
1685, and their resurrection in 1789, was 103 years, 4 months, and 
37 days. This is a period contained in three lunations and a half on 
the day for a year principle. I may remark here, that prophetic 
time is regulated by the moon, and not by the sun. The year is nearly 
measured by lunations, and contains twelve of 29 days 12 hours, and 
44 minutes each. This would give 354 days 8 hours and 48 minutes 
to the year composed of synodical months. But she is about 364 
days, or 13 lunar months, in passing round the sun, which makes a 
difference between a year of lunations and a lunar year of about 10 
days. The prophetic year is neither as short as the year of lunations, 
nor as long as the lunar year; but 5 days 16 hours and 12 minutes 
added to the former, thereby giving 360 days as its duration. A 
twelfth part of this is 30 days, which would be too many to represent 
the time of political death ; therefore it seems to have been represented 
by lunations, or the exact interval between one new moon and another. 
Three lunations and a half of day-years gives the real time as will 
appear from the following calculation : 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes 
s» a moon's day multiplied by 3 days and a half =** 103 days,8 hours, 34 
minutes; which, on the day for a year principle, which is the element 
of all prophetic times, gives 103 years, 4 months, 17 days. Instead, 
therefore, of saying that they lay all these years unburied on the 
broad way of the great city, theactual time is reduced to its minimum* 
by which the decorum of the symbol is preserved, and the truth 
expressed. 

Now, " after three days and a half the breath of life from God 
entered into the witnesses ;" that is, after the three months and a half 
of day-years had fully expired, " they stood upon their feet." The 
death-period elapsed on Feb. 18, 1789, and in two months and four- 
teen days after, being May 4, they accepted the invitation of " a 
great voice from the heaven," saying to them, " Come up hither I" 
This great voice was the royal proclamation by which the States 
General were convened, and in which the witnesses took their seats as 
the third estate of the kingdom. They soon proved their existence 
there by the events which followed. They ascended to power in a 
portentous cloud, which burst upon the devoted heads of their ene- 
mies; and in the earthquake which followed they shook the 
world. 

The resurrection of the Calvinist, and Secular, democracies, in the 
great city, constitutes a great and remarkable epoch in prophetic 
time. It was 1260 years from A.D. 529. Now when we turn to 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 321 

the history of that period, we find that it is also dignified as a notable 
epoch of the times of the Gentiles. From 529 to December 16,533, 
a period of four years and eight months, there were published the 
celebrated code, pandects, institutes, and novels, of Justinian. 
" These were declared," says Gibbon, "to be the legitimate system 
of civil jurisprudence; they alone were admitted in the tribunals; 
and they alone were taught in the academies of Rome, Constanti- 
nople, and Berytus. He addressed them to the senate and provinces 
as his eternal oracles ; and his pride under the mask of piety, ascribed 
the consummation of this great design to the support and inspiration 
of the Deity." These documents became the civil and ecclesiastical 
constitution of the Roman empire; and as the new kingdoms of the 
west looked up to the majesty of Constantinople and the espiscopate 
of Rome as the founts of jurisprudence, civilization, and religion, 
they gradually came to adopt the Justinian as the common law code 
of their kingdoms. An incident recorded in the memoirs of Lavallette 
will illustrate the truth of this. "The events that preceded the grand 
drama of 1789," says he, " took me by surprise in the midst of my 
books, and my love of study. I was then reading the Esprit des 
Lois, a work that charmed me by its gravity, &c. I wished also to 
become acquainted with the code of the laws of France ; but 
Dommangef, to whom I mentioned my desire, laughed, and pointed 
to the Justinian code Qb the common law code of the kingdom." 
The institutes were published in 533, and in that year, in the case of 
an appeal by the emperor Justinian to the ecclesiastical decision of 
the bishop of Rome, he addressed him as the head of all the holy 
churches of the empire. 

But the Justinian code was not adopted by Europe simultaneously, 
nor in 534, when his labors were complete. He had made the Roman 
bishop spiritual head of the empire, but his supremacy was not 
acknowledged by the toe-kingdoms until about seventy-five years 
after. Students flocked from all of them to the schools of Rome, 
Constantinople, and Berytus, where they studied the law of the 
empire ; and from these centres also priests and missionaries were 
sent to propagate the faith, and to convert the governments of the west 
to the religion of the Roman bishop. When this was accomplished, 
Roman law and Roman superstition struck deep root among the 
institutions of the west. The Roman high priest w r as regarded as their 
spiritual father; and the emperor, as the imperial head of the divided, 
but still Roman, dominion of the east and west. This work required 
years to complete ; but when finished, as it was about 606 or 608, we 
find the contest between the bishop of Rome and the patriarch of 
Constantinople for the spiritual supremacy of the world, brought to a 
conclusion by the former being proclaimed universal bishop by the 
emperor Phocas. From 529 to 604 is a period of 75 years; and 
from 533 to 608 is also 75 years; and between 604 an'd 608, the 
bishop of Rome obtained his legal recognition, which was celebrated 
by the erection of a statue to Phocas with the date of 608 inscribed 
upon it. 

This period of 75 years with a double beginning and a double 



322 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

ending of four years, is the period of the civil and ecclesiastical 
constitution of the ten-horned beast, when the Roman dragon "gave 
him his power, and his throne, and great authority." 11 Now this 
symbol is to " continue forty and two months" which is the repre- 
sentative time of the continuance of the things represented bv the 
symbol, expressed in miniature. It is the symbolical duration of the 
decemregal and imperial constitution of Roman Europe. Daniel 
expresses the same duration by the phrase, " time, times, and dividing 
of time;" both of which represent 1260 years. The beasts and 
their image, and the little horn and his eyes and mouth, are to 
prevail against the saints until the end of that period. The little 
horn, and the two-horned beast and the image, do not exist all that 
time ; for they did not appear till 270 years " after " the Justinian 
epoch : but although they did not all rise from the earth and sea, and 
attain to dominion at one and the same time, yet it is plainly revealed, 
that they are all to lose their independence, and finally their sovereignties 
at the end of the 1260, or forty-two months of years ; sb that while 
the ten horns will have continued 1260 years from the time of Phocas, 
the little horn and his apocalyptic synonyms, will have existed only 
somewhat more than 1000. The bishop of Rome, however, as lion- 
mouth of the ten horns will have passed through his 1260 years. 

Not to interrupt the train of thought before us, I shall finish what 
I have to say about the time of the beast before I return to the subject 
of the witnesses. The prophet saith " Bless^H is he that waiteth,and 
cometh to the 1335 days." 2 The end of this period is a time of 
blessedness to the saints of the holy city, because like Daniel, thev 
shall " stand in their lot in the end of the days." But so long as the 
fourth beast continues this cannot be ; for he treads down the holy 
city until the 42 months expire. From this it is manifest that the 42 
months and 1335 days both terminate together. There will be no 
delay of the resurrection on account of the continuance of the beast, 
because it will have been destroyed out of the way by the saint-demo- 
cracies. The prophet informs us, that all things showed to him are 
to be finished at the end of "a time, times, and a half," 3 or 1260 
years; and among these wonders is the resurrection of many of the 
dead to everlasting life. 3 It appears from this, that the 1260 and 
1335 both end together. If this be so, it follows that they begin 75 
years apart; for the difference between them is 75 years. But to 
this it might be objected, if they end together, how can the 42 months 
of days, or 1260 years, have terminated at 1789? The answer is, 
that the 42 months, 1260 years, and *• time, times, and a half," have 
all a double commencement and a double termination. The 1335 
years may be said therefore to begin and end with the 1260 ; that is 
it commences with the first beginning of the 1260, and terminate, 
with its last ending. Thus, the 1260 may be represented hv a 
rhombus, the two longitudinal parallel lines of which repiVKpiV 
each 1260 years, but beginning one after the other, which is mad/ 
to appear by the angles being less, or more, than a right angle. TIip 
1335 years are indicated by the line which stretches from the kwcl 

'Rev. xi. 2. » Dan, xll. IS. 13. » Dan. xii. 7, 2. 



IN* THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 32'S 

angle on the left to the upper angle on the right, as it is seen in the 
following diagram. 

A.D. 1864—1868. 




A.D. mo—las £_gg2 y ears - 3 * days ' / A - D - 1789—1793. 



A.D. 1685. 



Such, it appears to me, is the scheme of the times of the beast. 
The A.D. 799, under the lower line, indicates the restoration of the 
Roman empire of the west; or establishment of the little Latin Horn 
of Daniel, and two-horned beast, and the image, of the apocalypse. 
This was 270 years from the publication of the Justinian code ; and 
240 from the settlement of Italy, according to the articles of the 
Pragmatic sanction, by which " Rome was degraded to the second 
rank " amon«- the cities of the empire. The fourth trumpet, which 
proclaimed the smiting of the sixth head of the Beast in its jurisdic- 
tion over a third part of the Roman territory, still continued its sound- 
ings. The events which pertained to it yet showed themselves 
in the wars between Justinian and the Vandals, Goths, and other 
people, until Italy was depopulated of many millions of its inhabitants. 
Under this trumpet, the sovereignty of the eternal city suffered a 
total eclipse; so that the imperial day shone not upon her " for a 
third part of it, and the night likewise." i This was a day and a 
nio-ht of years, the minimum of time demanded by the nature of an 
eclipse. *A day of years, and a night of years, are each 360 years 
long ; for as a "day in symbolic time represents a year, or 360 days ; 
so, if the decorum of the symbol require it, each of these days may 
represent a year. A scripture, or Jewish, day contains 12 hours; 
and a night likewise. Hence, the third part of a day is four hours; and 
the third part of a night, four hours also. An hour being a twelfth part 
is equal to30, which multiplied by 4 gives 120 years for the third part 
of the day ; and 120 years for the third part of the night, which added 
too-ether make 240 years. Now, if my calculation and interpretation 
be correct, it follows that Rome (in which there had been seven 
sovereignties from the foundation of the city till the fall of the 
Gothic kingdom of Italy in A.D. 553,) should be no more the seat 
of empire, from the degradation by the pragmatic sanction until the 
end of 240 years, In other words, that at the end of that period her 
eclipse should terminate, and she should once more shine forth with 
imperial splendor. Now, no interpretation of prophecy is worth any 
Jbing which is not sustained by facts ; for prophecy is not a prediction 
of opinions, principles, or feelings, but of tangible and stubborn facts 

' Rev. Viii. 12. 

x2 



324 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

What, then, are the facts in the case before us ? I give the answer to 
this question in the words of Gibbon. " On the festival of 
Christmas," says he, " the last year of the eighth century (i. e. 799) 
Charlemagne appeared in the church of St. Peter. After the cele- 
bration of the holy mysteries, Leo suddenly placed a precious crown 
upon his head, and the dome resounded with the acclamations of the 
people, ' long life and victory to Charles, the most pious Augustus, 
crowned by God the great and pacific emperor of the Romans!' 
The head and body of Charlemagne were consecrated by the royal 
unction ; after the example of the Caesars he was saluted or adored 
by the pontiff : his coronation oath represents a promise to maintain 
the faith and privileges of the church ; and the first fruits were paid 
in his rich offerings to the shrine of the apostle." Gibbon styles him 
" the restorer of the western empire," which included France, Spain, 
Italy, Germany, and Hungary % and from the restoration of which 
" Europe," says he, " dates a new era." Thus, Rome's eclipse 
passed away, and her system was again illumined by the shining 
forth of the imperial sun, moon, and stars, over the third part from 
which they had been so long obscured. 

Between A.D. 529, and the pragmatic degradation of Rome U 
" one hour " of years, or 30 years. I rather think that this is the 
period referred to in the apocalypse, saying, " the ten horns receive 
power as kings one hour with the Beast;" 1 that is, they co-operate 
for that time with the sixth head of the Beast in his war with the 
seventh, which continued only "a short space" of sixty years. In 
the history of the period, this w r as the fact ; for we find the soldiers 
of some of the kingdoms in the armies of Justinian in his Italian 
wars. 

Thus, then, the first commencement of the 1260 years is marked 
by the lesser period of 270 years, and their first termination bf 
another of 103 years, from the death of the witnesses in 1685 to 
their resurrection in 1789. The diagonal number of the diagram, 
the 1335 years, stretches to the second termination of the 1260 ; and 
thus presents us with a period of 75 years for the judgment, which 
has been given into the hands of the saints. At the end of this time 
the Roman Beast will be like the empire of Napoleon, a thing which 
was, but is not, and will be no more. 

A dominion requires time for its destruction as well as time 
for its formation. Hence, as the ten-horned Beast was 75 years in 
completing its constitution, there is a fitness in the arrangement which 
provides 75 years for the dissolution of the same. Its organization 
was gradual, it is not therefore to be expected that its destruction will 
be instantaneous. Time is^necessary for all things, to build up and 
pull down. Interpreters are generally too much in a hurry. We 
must have patience as well as faith. Things are all working together 
well for the appointed end. The remaining fifteen, or twenty, years 
which have yet to expire before the 75 years of judgment are corii- 
pletc, will develope things which will make the ears of the nations 
tingle, and their blood run cold. But what strikes them with terror 

* Bev. xvii. 12. 
( 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 325 

is matter of joy to the believer in the kingdom of God ; for the 
dragon, the beasts, and the image, must all be destroyed out of the 
way before the auspicious era of the world's blessedness can be 
introduced. 



CHAPTER III. 

Doings of the witnesses when invested with power — They execute justice on their 
enemies — A great earthquake — The seventh trumpet — Divided into seven vial- 
periods— The thiid, fourth, and fifth, vials, and Napoleon — England and the 
second vial— Turkey and the sixth vial — All Europe and the seventh vial— The 
prophecy of the Frogs explained— The mission of the unclean spirits — Their opera- 
tion the sign of Christ's stealthy and sudden return — The great desideratum in 
view of the Advent. 



The seventy-five years included between the two endings of the 1260 
years, is in part styled, " the time of the end " in Daniel ;* also u the 
latter dai/s;'' 2 being about the same length of time as "the last days" 
of the Mosaic dispensation, dating from the birth of Christ, three 
years and eight months before the beginning of the vulgar era. It is 
the period of the Beast's judgment by sword and flame at the hands 
of the saints. They are to " consume and destroy his dominion to 
the end." Their success, however, in this work of blood will be the 
occasion of bringing up a power upon them, which will overcome 
them in turn ; and by his conquests build up the Image of Nebu- 
chadnezzar, and bring out again to view the Lion, the Leopard, and 
the Bear ; of which the image will be broken to shivers ; and the 
Beasts, " have their dominion taken away by the Ancient of Days ;" 
u though their existence will be prolonged for a season and a time/* 
or 1000 years , during which their destinies will be at the disposal of 
the inheritors of the kingdom of God. 

I have said that the 75 years of organization had a double 
beginning; and, consequently, a double ending likewise. This is 
also the case with the 75 years of judgment. There elapsed four 
years and eight months between the publication of the Justinian code, 
and that of the pandects and institutes. A second edition of the code, 
amended and enlarged, was proclaimed in rather less than six years 
after its first publication. Now it is remarkable, that about the same 
space of six years was occupied by the antagonists of the Beast, in 
the national assembly of its principal kingdom, in repealing, by its 
3370 degrees, the Justinian constitution of the empire by which the 
Bishop of Rome became the lion-mouth of the dominion, and the 
Roman superstition, the state religion of the Horns. In 533, the 

1 D.in. viii. 17; xi. 40. 2 Dan. i;. 28: x. 14. Ezek. xxxviii. 16. 



326 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

supi*emacy of Rome in ecclesiastical affairs was recognized by 
Justinian ; and in 1260 years after, that is, in 1793, the new consti- 
tution was adopted, and the Roman religion abolished. There are 
other notable considerations of the same kind which the reader may 
observe for himself in studying the history of these periods. Want 
of space forbids me going more into detail upon this part of the 
subject ; I shall, therefore, return to a brief outline of what remains 
concerning the witnesses after their ascension to supremacy in the 
sight of their enemies. 

Having responded to the " great voice from the heaven, saying 
unto them, Come up hither ! " they were not long in making their 
power felt. They converted the States General into the National 
Assembly on June 17, 1789; abolished the feudal system, and all 
privileges ; and declared ecclesiastical property to be the property of 
the nation. In 1790 they continued to shake the monarchy with 
great violence. They suppressed all religious orders ; and destroyed 
" seven thousand titles of men " (ovopaTa avQpufirutv) ; that is, com- 
pletely abolished all titles of nobility, not even sparing the king's. 
These things were only preliminary to the fall of the throne. " The 
tenth of the city fell ;" for, in 1792, they abolished the monarchy, 
and proclaimed a republic. On Jan. 31, 1793, they executed 
" national justice " upon Louis XVI., the representative of the king, 
who, in 1685, had massacred them by thousands in cold blood. His 
Queen soon met with the same fate j and to crown all, the worship of 
reason was substituted for the vile superstition of Rome. The national 
justice having been carried to this extent, " the remnant were 
affrighted." The reign of terror was established. They sent a 
revolutionary army over the departments with artillery and the 
guillotine to take vengeance on their enemies. Priests, aristocrats, 
and their adherents, became bread for the avenger. The dragonnades 
were retributed by wholesale drownings, and pitiless slaughters. 
They slew 2160 nobles and priests at Nantes ; drowned and shot 
2,000 infants, 7641 women, and 5300 artisans. Thus the broadway 
of the great city became a field of blood from one end of the domain 
to the other. In the hour of their vengeance, they did not omit an 
act of justice to the heirs of their brethren, the murdered Hougonots. 
They restored to them all their confiscated estates which remained 
unsold ; and declared all Frenchmen who were not papists admissible 
to all offices, civil and military. 

In 1794, the saints had "nearly completed the national justice for 
the present upon the French horn of the beast for its cruelties upon 
their brethren, and its impiety, and licentiousness, down to this time. 
It was truly " a great earthquake, " and had produced terrible 
devastation. The real character of the events of this epoch has never 
been appreciated as far as I am informed. They have been viewed 
too much as the incidents merely of a sanguinary conflict between 
political factions. Viewed in this light, indeed, the actors in the 
scenes can only be looked upon with horror and detestation. They 
were exceedingly wicked and depraved men ; and so were God's 
" sanctified ones " the unpitying Medcs, whom he had prepared to 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 327 

execute vengeance upon Babylon. u The wicked are the sword of 
the Lord;" hence, it is in this light his "saints" of the Median 
character must be regarded. Viewed through a scripture medium, 
we see in the democracy of the eighteenth century, the sword of God 
" bathing itself in the heaven, and coming down upon the people of 
his curse to judgment." 1 If the saints to whom the judgment of the 
beast is committed were men disposed to mercy, they would be 
unqualified for their work in the absence of the captain of their 
salvation. The saints of the holy city are not appointed to take 
vengeance at present. This work is for the wicked, that the wicked 
may destroy the wicked. But with all their depravity, the saints of 
the sword were no worse, nor, indeed, so detestible, as Charles IX, 
Louis XIV, the popes, the inquisition, and the savage mercenaries by 
whom their orders were executed. There has been this redeeming 
quality in the saints, that they have "helped the woman;" and in 
their conflicts protected " the remnant of her seed " against the 
beast; while kings, priests, and nobles, have soaked the soil of 
Europe with their blood; and celebrated their sufferings with illumi- 
nations, gifts, and merry-makings. c 

A most unexpected event marked the end of the second woe which 
has hitherto been under consideration. It was revealed to John that 
the reign of terror would pass away by their giving " glory to the 
God of heaven." The democracy, which had been trained to atheism 
and blasphemy by the Roman superstition and the " philosophers," 
had decreed that there was no God when they abolished the papal 
worship. The nation, however, did not maintain this edict for many 
months ; for on May 7, 1794, Robespierre obtained a decree from 
the convention, proclaiming the existence of the Supreme Bern"- ; 
and another on June 8, decreeing a national festival to his honor, 
which w r as celebrated accordingly in Paris with popular demonstrations 
of joy. Thus ended the sixth trumpet, which was to be quickly 
succeeded by the seventh and last. 

THE SEVENTH TRUMPET. 

" In the days of the voice of the seventh angel when he shall sound 
(oTau fisXXfj traXiriXeiv) the secret of God shall be finished, as he hath 
declared to his servants the prophets." 3 Here is a continuance of 
time specified, namely, " in the. days of the voice of the angel ; " that 
is, the sounding of the last trumpet would be no exception to those 
which had gone before ; but, that as they had occupied years in 
sounding, so the seventh would sound through a succession of years, 
even until the kingdom of God should be established as revealed in 
the writings of the prophets. 4 This is the declared mystery, to the 
manifestation of which all things are tending. 

The things which will have been accomplished when the seventh 
trumpet shall have ceased to sound are stated summarily in the 
following words ; " And the seventh angel sounded ; and there were 
great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are 

« Isaiah xxxiv. 5. 2 Rev. *'- 10. » Ber. x. 7. < Dan. ii. 44. 



328 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

become the kingdoms ■ of our Lord and of his Anointed (Xpio-To?;) 
and he shall reign for ever and ever." This is the consummation, 
which is introduced by these foregoing events, to wit ; " The nations 
were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that 
they should be separated, and that thou shouldest give the reward to 
thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy 
name, small and great ; and shouldest destroy them that destroy the 
earth." In connexion with these wonderful events, " the temple of 
God was opened in the heaven, and there was seen in his temple the 
Ark of his testament ;" and this exhibition is to be accompanied by 
" lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and 
great hail ;" 1 the result of which will be the translation of the 
kingdom under the whole heaven to the prophets, and saints, and to 
them who fear the name of the Lord. 

The eleventh chapter of the Revelation terminates with the glorious 
and terrible advent of Christ. The thirteenth verse records the end 
of the sixth trumpet or second woe ; and the nineteenth, the end of 
the seventh trumpet, or of the third woe, which is consummated in 
the destruction of the tyrants who have for so many ages been the 
demoralizers and destroyers of the people ; and in the introduction 
of the era of blessedness to the world. As I have said, the sounding 
of the last trumpet is not an instantaneous blast, but a series of blasts 
in regular succession. He is the trumpeter who summons the nations 
to war throughout the 75 years, during which " the judgment sits to 
take away the dominion of the fourth beast to consume and to destroy 
it unto the end." While this trumpet is sounding, seven angels, or 
messengers, are engaged in pouring out " the wrath of God upon the 
earth," or continental Europe and Asia, especially that portion of 
them comprised in the Greco- Roman Dragon. The portions of wrath 
committed to these symbolical angels are termed " vials," which 
were to be emptied upon certain territories and powers of the Roman 
world. The first five were consecutive in their beginnings, but 
afterwards concurrent for several years. The vengeance they con- 
tained fell upon the ten horns of the beast, the two-horned beast, and 
the image of the beast ; while the agent, or executioner, was the 
French democracy, to which "judgment ?vas given." They had 
first judged God's enemies, and those of his people, in France; and 
having finished their work there, they were let loose upon the other 
horns of the beast, and upon his little horn and its appendages, to 
judge them for their crimes against God and man. The democracy 
were invited to their work abroad by the continental coalition against 
France, in which Austria was a principal. The reader can consult 
the history of the period for details ; it will be sufficient for me to say 
here, that with every disadvantage in the outset, the sans-cullottes-sol- 
diery became at length every where triumphant. They were without 
funds, imperfectly armed and disciplined, and led on by inexperienced 
generals ; they were opposed by well appointed armies, with all the 
military talent of Europe to direct them : but God's power was with 
them in a way not visible to flesh. They were contending with his 

1 Rev. xi. 15—19. 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 329 

foes, and avenging the blood of his saints, therefore no power eould 
withstand them so long as they did not transcend their mission. The 
history of these events ought to teach politicians, that God can punish 
the destroyers of the earth by an agency which in itself is without 
strength or wisdom. When he takes the work in hand the feeble 
become strong; and the poor despise riches. His saints of Media 
" did not regard silver ; and as for gold they delighted not in it." 
Politicians speculate as though money were omnipotent ; and we 
hear " financial reformers" predicting the inactivity of Russia and 
Austria for want of funds ! Where did the barbarians procure funds 
for the overthrow of the western empire in the fifth and sixth 
centuries ? Did they not support themselves by the spoil ? Let the 
Russian treasury be as empty as it is said to be, and its expenditure 
exceed its revenue by double the alleged deficit, it will only operate as 
a pressure from within, causing her autocrat to " enter into the 
countries, and to overflow and pass over," and to enrich himself with 
the spoil of those he is destined to subdue. 

From among the lowest of the people there arose a military 
hierarchy headed by a chief, who became the sword of God and 
scourge of Europe. It is scarcely necessary to say, that this was 
Napoleon and his generals. To him, as the man of the earth and 
sword of the democracy, it was given to carry on the judgment upon 
Daniel's fourth beast. He appears pre-eminent in the pouring out 
of the third vial upon " the rivers and fountains of waters," which, 
under his hand, " became blood." His celebrated campaigns in the 
Alpine regions and plains of Italy, abounding in springs, lakes, and 
rivers, strikingly illustrate this vial of wrath. The Austro-papal, or 
little horn, was the principal in the war with whom he had to contend. 
The "Italian fields" were the arena of the dreadful massacres of the 
witnesses by the " holy Roman" power, whose mercenaries on the same 
aceldama received blood to drink at Napoleon's hand. This righteous 
retribution is the subject of angelic celebration, saying, " Thou art 
righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou 
hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints, and 
prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are 
worthy." To this, a voice is represented as issuing forth from the 
symbolical altar, responding in these words, " Even so, Lord God 
Almighty, true ar.-d righteous are thy judgments." 1 This vial began 
in 1796 with the war against Piedmont, and ended with the destruction 
of the little horn, or two-horned beast's, dominion over Italy ; and 
with the establishment of the sovereignty of the military democracy 
of France. 

. But the judgment of the saints upon the little horn did not stop 
here. They next proceeded to pour out God's wrath upon " thesinib' 
of Roman Europe. They had eclipsed him in Italy; and their 
Corsican chieftain received imperial power, and in the exercise of it 
literally " scorched men with fire." Being now the sun of a great 
pari of Europe he would tolerate no rival. The house of Hapsburg 
still claimed to be th? sun of the Roman world, which the head of 

Usv. xvi. 5—7. 



330 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

the now imperial democracy resolved should not be. He therefore 
" scorched men with great heat " in his German wars. He executed 
all the wrath of the fourth vial upon the Austrian empire, till at 
length the time arrived to " fill the beast's kingdom with darkness/'' 
This could only be accomplished by a total eclipse of the Roman 
sun. The fifth vial was, therefore, poured out upon the beast's 
throne. The vengeance was terrific. The people of the beast 
" gnawed their tongues for pain. And blasphemed the God of 
heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of 
their deeds." The power of the little horn was " consumed" but 
not yet " destroyed to the end" The battle of Austerlitz in 1805 
decided the fate of its dominion for a time. Francis of Austria still 
retained possession of his hereditary domain, which included Hungary 
and Bohemia ; but " the holy Roman empire," says Sir Walter 
Scott, " having lasted full 1000 years, was declared to be no more, 
and of its ancient influence, the representation was to be sought for 
not at Vienna, but at Paris." 

But the work was yet unfinished while the papal Jupiter remained 
temporal sovereign of Rome. Having to contend with the British 
Leopard in Spain, the beast and the image deemed it a favorable 
opportunity to break the yoke of their consumer. Napoleon had 
required the pope to declare war against England. But England 
was too good a friend to receive such treatment. He therefore 
refused ; and replied to his demand by hurling the thunders of the 
Vatican at his head; while Austria, energized by British gold, 
assembled 500,000 men for the war. This was in 1809. In five 
days this mighty host was broken and dispersed. The battle of 
Wagram reduced the little horn once more to inactivity ; and the 
Corsican avenger obtained leisure to extinguish the image of the 
beast. By a decree dated from the palace of the little horn at 
Schoenbrun he annexed the Ecclesiastical State to the kingdom of 
Italy ; and by a second decree, dated at Vienna May 17, 1800, he 
suppressed the temporal sovereignty of the pope ; incorporated Rome 
with the French empire ; declared it to be his second city ; appointed 
a committee of administration for its civil government ; and settled a 
pension on the pope in his spiritual capacity : all of which came to 
pass exactly 1260 years from the capture of Rome by Totilla and 
his Goths. 

Thus, by the judgment given to the saints, the dominion of the 
ten-horned, and two-horned, Beasts and their Image, was completely 
taken away till the fall of their consumer. The kingdoms, or horns, 
of the Beast were all reduced to vassalage, while the imperial chief 
of the democracy created thrones, and made kings and princes of 
whomsoever he pleased. It was a glorious sight to the eye of faith 
to behold him and his democratic nobles with the Beast writhing at 
their feet. He claimed for his immediate liege subjects a population 
of 42,000,000 of souls ; with Italy, Carniola, and the Illyriati pro- 
vinces, as a portion of his personal empire. His authority was 
almost absolute in Switzerland. He was lord of the confederation 
of the Rhine. The king of Naples was one of his generals ; and the 



JN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 331 

Peninsular seemed on the verge of final subjugation. Thus, an em- 
pire of 800,001) square miles, and containing a population or 
85,0 K),090, in territory one fifth part, and in number of inhabitants 
one half, of united Europe, was either in quiet subjection to Napo- 
leon's sceptre, or on the point, as was supposed, of becoming so. 

But the time had not then arrived either for the final destruction of 
the Beast's dominion ; or, for the saints to possess the kingdom for 
ever : nor, indeed, are the saints of the Median class the persons for 
whom everlasting dominion is intended. These are merely the con- 
sumers and destroyers of the fourth beast ; and not " the possessors 
of the kingdom under the whole heaven for ever, even for ever and 
ever." This is reserved for the saints of the holy city, styled by 
Daniel, " the people of the saints." It was necessary, therefore, to 
energize the prostrate Beasts, and to enable them once more to prevail 
against the saints, but not to kill them, as in 1685; for their agency 
was still needed for the perfecting of the judgment that yet remains 
to be executed for the destroying of the Little Horn to the end. To 
compass this necessity, God had reserved powers on the east and west 
of Europe which had not been subdued. These were the great rival 
dominions of England and Russia. To the former had been assigned 
the pouring out the wrath of the second vial upon the sea. England 
began her work in 1793, and, with little interruption, made the sea 
" as the blood of a dead man " for two and twenty years. The 
maritime parts of the Beast's dominion suffered the vengeance of 
her power ; and so completely did she clear the sea of his ships of 
war and commerce, that it might be truly said of them " every living 
soul in the sea died ;" and the waves were ruled by Britain's fleets 
alone. In attacking Russia, the democracy exceeded the limits of 
its commission ; for the Russian dominion is no part of the ten-horned 
Beast of the sea, or two-horned Beast of the earth. While Russia, 
indeed, was combatting for the Beasts in Italy and Germany, her 
hosts were at length everywhere defeated ; but when they stood upon 
their own soil God shielded them from the Avenger, whose strength 
was wasted by his frost and snow. Repelled within the limits of 
Roman Europe, the power of Napoleon dried up more rapidly than 
it prevailed. By the armies of Russia on the east, and by those of 
England on the south, the Beasts were again enabled to stand. The 
Eagle fled before the Leopard and the Bear, who at length wrested 
from him the prey, and restored it to liberty and dominion, just 1260 
years from the defeat and death of Teias, the last of the Gothic kings 
of Italy ; and the defeat of the Franks and Allemanni there. 

Thus far the seventh trumpet had sounded with terrible effect 
against the Greco-Roman dragon; which was judged not only in 
Europe, but in Egypt and Syria. In 1815, peace was finally pro- 
claimed; " the holy alliance" formed; the " holy Roman empire'' 
resuscitated ; and the papal Jupiter re-instated on his throne ; and 
the rest of Europe portioned out according to the interests of the 
old dynasties of the Beast, and the good pleasure of the Congress of 
Vienna. But the Beast and his allies can settle nothing upon a 
permanent basis any more. " For ever " in its decrees, extends only 



332 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

to the end of the blasts of the seventh trumpet. The "holy alliance" 
was pledged to keep down the democracy, and to maintain the 
? order " in which the blasphemers of God's name, and the destroyers 
jf the earth, delight. But after a few years God dissolved it like a 
;hing of air. 

The time at length arrived to make preparation for the restoration 
of Israel. The " abomination that maketh desolate " had prevailed 
under divers forms for u 1290 years " l from the celebrated epoch 
A.D. 530, which was the third year of Justinian's reign upon the 
throne of Constantinople. The dragon, of whose dominion this city 
became the seat after Constantine transferred the government from 
Rome, was the desolator of the Hebrew commonwealth. He destroyed 
the city and temple, scattered Judah, and consumed the land with 
fire and sword. These have been its works for about 1780 years. 
But of this long period a portion has been separated which should 
reach to the time when " that determined should be poured upon the 
desolator/' 2 Now, that * which is determined " is the wrath of 
God contained in the sixth vial, and which is appointed to be poured 
out upon the eastern division of the Greco-Roman Dragon. If 
therefore it be ascertained when the vial began to pour, the time is 
also discovered when the 1290 years of the desolation end. This 
ascertained, there is of course no difficulty in knowing when they 
commenced. When we look into the history of our own time, it is 
easy to perceive that the sixth vial began in 1820. The other vials 
had been exhausted principally upon the western division of the 
empire, with the exception of the second, which affected the east and 
west alike. The sixth, however, is poured out primarily upon the 
east, and drying up the desolator's dominion there, pours on until its 
stream is commingled with that of the seventh, by which both the 
east and the west are wrapped in an universal conflagration ; which 
terminates in the final destruction of the little horn, or two-horned 
beast and his prophet; the. subjection of the ten kingdoms to the 
dragon of Constantinople ; and lastly, their combined overthrow at 
the battle of Armageddon" by the Lord of hosts. The details of the 
sixth and seventh vials are amplified in that portion of the apocalypse 
beginning at the fourteenth verse of the seventeenth chapter, and 
ending at the sixth of the twentieth. But to return to the sixth. 

The sixth trumpet brought up the four dynastic powers from the 
Euphrates, which was the western boundary of their domain. They 
crossed this river under Alp Arslan, who at the head of an immense 
cavalry invaded the Roman dragon. After " an hour, and a day, 
and a month, and a year," from the invasion; that is, 360 years 
added to 30, added to 1 year and 30 days, which is equal to 
391 years 30 days — the period of Turkish preparation to seize the 
dragon's throne was complete. On May 29, 1453, Constantinople 
fell into the hands of the Turks, who have retained it to this day. 
The predecessor of Alp Arslan was Togrul Beg, who was constituted 
lieutenant of the prophet by the last of the Califs. Togrul's successors 
down to the present Sultan have inherited this lieutenancy, by which 

» Dan. xii. 11. ' Dan. ix. 27. 



IX THEIU RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 383 

they are regarded as the political and spiritual head of the Moham- 
medan world. The judgment of the sixth vial is to take away his 
supremacy, and to wrest from him the .dragon's sceptre. This is 
termed ** drying up the waters of the Euphrates ;" which occurs for 
the purpose of bringing about the restoration of Israel, who by the 
constitution of Sinai, are " a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation," 
and to whom belongs the adoption, through which " the kings of the 
east " are provided. Now, when the Turks obtained possession of 
Constantinople, the catholics were doomed to one of three things — -to 
turn Musselmen, to pay tribute, or to suffer death ; and for apostates 
there was no merc} r . In June 1844, which was 391 years and 30 
days from the capture of the city, and the imposition of these conditions 
upon the conquered, religious liberty and the right of apostasy were 
conceded at the instance of the western powers. This was 782 years 
and 2 months from Alp Arslan's invasion. These facts suggested to 
me a principle of calculation in relation to the passing away of the 
Sultan's supremacy; It was 396 years 131 clays from Togrul Beg's 
investiture by the commander of the faithful, to the taking of Con- 
stantinople. I argued therefore, from the analogy before us, that it 
would be 396 years 131 days after the capture, to the time when the 
Sultan would be about to lose his supremacy at the hand of Russia, 
who was then fully occupied in the Hungarian war. This time would 
terminate Sept. 29, 1849. I made this statement in my lectures 
in various parts of England and Scotland, when all the country was 
expressing its sympathy for the Hungarians, and the news of their 
victories abundant. My calculation was too late by ten days. All 
relations were broken off between Russia and Turkey on Sept. 19 
instead of the 29th. This event was a recommencement of sorrows 
for the Sublime Porte. 

The following events will give the reader some idea of the manner 
in which the sixth vial has been pouring out " on the great river 
Euphrates.''* In 1820, the Greeks rebelled against the Sultan, and, 
after several years war, succeeded by the aid of the western powers, 
in establishing the kingdom of Greece. In 1826, the Janisaries re- 
volted, and thousands of them were massacred by order of the Sultan. 
In 1827, Turkey lost 110 ships in the battle of Navarino. In 1828, 
war with Russia, and a general revolt throughout Albania. From 
1821 to 1831, ravages of cholera and plague, and depopulation of 
the eastern provinces. From 1829 to 1848, the Algerine war by 
which Algeria is annexed to France. In 1839, Egypt and Syria 
wrested from the Porte by Mehemet Ali. War between Egypt and 
Turkey, in which the Turkish fleet revolts to Egypt. In 1844, 
massacres by the Turks in Syria; and exterminating war between the 
Maronites and Druses there. And in 1848, Russia moved her forces 
south, and took up her position in the Turkish principalities of the 
Danube, to be in readiness to avail herself of subsequent events. All 
these disasters have so weakened the Porte, that the dominion of the 
Sultan could not be preserved for a month, but for the jealousies of 
England and France against Russia, which awaits only the opportunity 
of re-planting the Greek cross on the dome of St. Sophia. 



334 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

Ten years after the commencement of the sixth vial, the seventh 
began to descend upon " the air," or political constitution of the 
beast. By the judgment of the sixth, a ninth horn was brought out 
upon the Greco-Roman dragon, which at present wears a crown. 
This is the Greek kingdom. But there was still, another wanting to 
make up the ten. This tenth horn was brought to light by the 
seventh vial, whose beginning Was marked by the revolution in Paris 
in 1830. The congress of Vienna had constituted the kingdom of 
the Netherlands, part of which lay in Roman Europe, and part of it, 
namely, Holland, beyond it. The vial of the air, however, paid no 
respect to the political geography of the " holy alliance." The 
beast required ten crowned horns to answer the prophetic symbol at the 
epoch of its destruction ; for they are then to be unjewelled that they 
may become the vassal-horns of the Greco-Roman Dragon. Hence, 
when the air of the Roman world was touched, an electric shock 
passed through all its kingdoms, producing " voices, and thunders, 
and lightnings" on every side. A thunderbolt fell upon the Nether- 
lands, striking the throne, and dividing it into two. The result was 
the establishment of the kingdom of Belgium as the tenth horn of 
the beast. It is unnecessary for me to enumerate the ten horns, for 
they are the same as the ten toe-kingdoms of Nebuchadnezzar's image 
which are already named. The constitution of France was changed j 
Louis Phillippe, the citizen king, being substituted, by a ruse upon the 
democracy, for the elder branch of the Bourbons imposed upon them by 
the " holy alliance." The kingdom of Poland was suppressed, and 
incorporated as a conquered province with the Russian empire. In 
Spain and Portugal their several thrones were disputed by pretenders ; 
and even England, though not included in either of the beasts, or in 
the dragon of " the time of the end," did not escape the vibrations 
of the air. Events on the continent gave a salutary impulse to the 
reform movement, and passed " the bill." 

Eighteen years had passed away since the blending of the sixth 
and seventh vial-periods. Two years before a new pope was elected 
to the papal throne. He intended to rule, he said, according to the 
New Testament! His professions deceived the simple-hearted, and 
alarmed the despots of the kingdoms. When Satan undertakes to 
cast out Satan his kingdom is sure to be convulsed. The reforms of 
Pius IX satisfied nobody, and tended only to create a longing after 
liberty, and a determination to free the country from the rule of 
priests. The hopes of the democracy throughout Europe were 
inflamed ; and " the earth " began to tremble until in 1848 every 
throne was shaken to its foundation. The events of this wonderful 
year are too recent to require to be chronicled in this place. It will 
be enough to say that the democracy broke loose, and commenced a 
movement, which, though it has been restrained to prevent it pro- 
gressing too rapidly, cannot be suppressed until the little horn, or 
two-horned beast and his prophet, be destroyed to the end, and the 
dominion of the ten-horned beast be taken away. The events of 
February 1848 have originated the "great earthquake v of the 
seventh vial. It is the same earthquake as that of the eleventh of 



IK THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 335 

the apocalypse, and nineteenth verse. Its first shocks have been 
terrific, but they are only the premonitions of worse to come. The 
earthquake, or political convulsion, which followed the resurrection 
and ascension of the witnesses in 1789, was awful, as all know who 
are versed in the history of the time. But that fell far short of what 
God is preparing for Europe. The tumult of the peoples, and the 
tempest whose bowlings are heard in " the air," are thus intimated by 
the prophet, saying, " There shall be a time of trouble such as never 
was since there was a nation to that same time : and at that time 
Israel shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the 
book. * And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall 
awake, some to everlasting life, and some to everlasting shame and 
contempt." 2 This " time of trouble" is contemporary with the 
resurrection of a portion of the dead. It is the epoch of Israel's 
deliverance, both of the Ishmael, and Isaac, seeds; and of the casting 
down of the thrones of the beast. 3 The convulsion which effects 
their overthrow is described by the apostle as "a great earthquake, 
such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earth- 
quake, and so great." 4 Ascertain the calamities of former ages, and 
however terrible they may appear, this will exceed them all. The 
Flood, Sodom, Egypt, Jerusalem, the fall of the Roman empire, were 
all judgments which chill the heart, and make the blood run cold to 
contemplate ; but times have now come over the world which will have 
been hitherto unsurpassed. The wrath of the sixth and seventh vials 
which remains, is about to overwhelm the nations with " torment and 
sorrow," for the cup of their iniquity is full. 

The more immediate effect of the shocks of the past year will be 
the subdivision of Roman Europe, styled " the great city," into 
" three parts." This division will be the result of war, for which the 
governments are now preparing themselves, perhaps unwittingly. 
The tripartite division is attended by the fall of the cities of the 
nations, as it is written, " The great city was divided into three parts 
and the cities of the nations fell." That is, as I take it, that in 
consequence of the approaching contest, growing out of the democratic 
insurrection of 1848, the ten kingdoms will lose their independence; 
by which a new partition of the Roman world will ensue ; and that 
when this is brought to pass, events will flow more directly eastward. 
But before " the cities fall," or as Daniel expresses it, " the thrones 
are cast down," Rome comes in for her final overthrow. I say 
" before," because these kings are to be parties to her destruction, 
and are to " bewail and lament for her," to them, unexpected doom. 
" Judgment " hath again to be " given to the saints ; " for as yet 
they have only in part performed their mission. They then prostrated the 
horns, the little horn, and the image of the beast, and consumed their 
dominion ; but in connexion with this earthquake of the last vial, 
they have l( to destroy it to the end." They are repressed for the 
moment ; but things are progressing in such a direction as to bring 
the power of the democracy to bear against Austria and Rome, 
perhaps through France and Prussia. When they have done their 

» Isaiah iv. 3. i Dan. xii. 1, 2. 3 Dan. vii. 9. * Rev. xvi. 18. 



336 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WOKLD 

work, the saints must be again repressed and suppressed, as they were 
in 1814 and 1815, by a power, however, that will subdue all for 
iiself. There will be no more resuscitation of the old governments, 
but all things will be absorbed into one continental dominion upon the 
old Reman domain. In the midst of this great commotion, Britain 
pushes westward from India, and promotes the colonization of Judea, 
which is an event pertaining to the sixth vial. By this time, Turkey 
is no more ; and Constantinople acknowledges the sceptre of the 
Autocrat. England and the Russian lead on the world to the day of 
doom. They advance their hosts to " the wine-press without the 
city," 1 which is called Armageddon 2 in the Hebrew tongue, and 
geographically situated in the land of Israel. 3 There '''as a cloud to 
cover the land" the armed multitudes are assembled, and preparing to 
decide the fate of Asia by the sword. But there falls upon them " a 
great hail out of heaven." This power is broken ; Judah is saved; 
Messiah appears " as a thief; " the Roman Dragon is bound ; and 
the restoration of the kingdom and throne of David is commenced. 
Such is an outline of the results to be brought about by the " mighty 
earthquake " whose shocks have already revealed the earnest of 
what is hereafter to come to pass. In the coming tumult, "great 
Babylon comes into remembrance before God, to give unto her the 
cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island 
disappears, and the mountains are not found. And there falls upon 
men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a 
talent : and men blaspheme God because of the plague of the hail ; 
for the plague thereof will be exceeding great." * 

But the mighty earthquake having commenced in 1848, and the 
democracy which caused it having been repressed to a considerable 
extent, what agency remains, as revealed in the scriptures of truth, by 
which is to be brought about the wonderful consummation we have 
been considering? The answer to this question is contained in the 
following words. "I saw," says the apostle, u three unclean spirits 
like Frogs out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of 
the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are 
the spirits of demons (Sai/xovwv) bringing to pass remarkable events 
(ttoiovvto. crr\fitia) and they go forth to the kings of the earth, and of 
the whole habitable {oiKovfjuvn^ 6X^) to assemble them to the war 
(cts iroXtfiov) of that great day of God the Almighty. And he gathered 
them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue, Armageddon." 5 
In this passage we have to consider the il three unclean spirits like 
frogs," the three mouths out of which they proceed, the parties to 
whom they go forth, and the fruit of their mission. There are three 
spirits, and three mouths, that is, one spirit proceeding out of each 
mouth ; but as they are all three like frogs and unclean, though 
proceeding from three different mouths, they are in nature, origin, 
and tendency, the same. They are called " the spirits of demons," 
not because of their uncleanness, or wickedness ; but because the 
mouths from which they issue are the demons, or chiefs, of the 
dominions represented by the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. 

Iter. xiv. 20. * Rev. xvi. 16. * Exek. xxxix. 4; Dan. xi. 41, 45. « Rev. xvi. 19—21. 5 Rev 

xvL 18—19. 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 337 

Now the throne of the dragon is Constantinople ; that of the two- 
horned beast, Vienna ; and that, of the image of the beast, Homo. 
The thrones being in these cities, it follows that the demon of the 
dragon is the Sultan ; the demon of the two-horned beast, the 
emperor of Austria ; and the demon of the image, the false prophet 
himself. It is worthy of observation here, that the text says, " out 
of the mouth of the false prophet," and not " out of the mouth of 
the image of the beast." In the beginning of the chapter, while the 
first vial is supposed to be pouring out, the papalJupiter is styled the 
beast's image; but in the thirteenth verse of the same chapter, while 
the spirits are at work, he is termed the false prophet ; and in ver.-e 
twenty of chapter nineteen also, where it speaks of his perdition. 
This change ot style is by no means accidental. If the reader take 
a view of the papal dominion at the close of the last century ; then 
view it as it is now, and compare the views together; he will doubtless 
come to the conclusion, that the pope is no longer the image of the 
imperial head of the beast. He has no dominion really, for it is so 
far consumed, that what remains is of little, or no account. He has 
good will enough to make terrible examples of the democrats who 
caused his flight from Home ; but he cannot carry it into effect, 
because the French will not permit him. He is a fugitive in exile, 
and though pressed to return to Rome, he is afraid to go. He is then 
no longer imperial, and consequently, has fallen from his Iconism, 
and become a simple prophet. 

Protestant and papal scribes are in the habit of applying the epithet 
"false prophet " to Mohammed, and therefore do not perceive its 
applicability to the Roman bishop. But neither Mohammed, nor* 
his successors, are termed "the false prophet" in the apocalypse. 
The Arabian was false enough doubtless ; but he was a far more 
respectable character than any pope that has ever reigned ; and were 
I to choose between the two superstitions, I would rather be a Moslem 
than a papist. It was the glory of Mohammed to destroy idolatry; 
it is the infamy of the popes to be the high priests of the " queen of 
heaven." The Saracens were God's locusts to torment, and the i 
Ottomans, God's cavalry to slay with political death, the catholic 
image-worshippers of the Asiatic third part of the Roman dragon. 
Mohammed was the star ; and his successors, the "commanders of 
the faithful," the "angels of the bottomless pit; whose name in the 
Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name 
Apollyon.'' * These names in english signify destroyer, which is 
indicative of the mission of those who marshalled themselves under 
the standard of the Arabian. The epithet *' false prophet" is 
singularly applicable to the Roman bishop. It is a part of his 
function to preach or prophesy ; that is, to f s speak unto men to 
edification, and exhortation, and comfort." 2 From him these blessings 
are supposed to flow to all "his children." Aaron was given to 
Moses to be his prophet because he could speak well. As Aaron, 
then, was speaker, mouth, or prophet, to Moses ; so the pope is now 
mouth, or prophet, or speaker, of the papacy, and no more. He is 

' Rev ix. 1, 11. 2 I Cor. xir. 3. 

Y 



338 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

virtually stripped of his dominion ; lie can prophesy, but his rule is a 
thing of name, and not a fact. A false prophet is he; truthless as 
Satan; sporting himself with his own deceivings, and thereby pro- 
voking a speedy fate, which is "capture and destruction." 

But, before he and the two-horned beast before whom he is now 
working, perish in the fiery European lake they are blowing into a 
flame, they must fulfil the mission to which they are appointed under 
the sixth and seventh vials. The Sultan, the pope, and the emperor, 
are the demons of the crisis, and the mouths, or speakers, of the 
systems to which they belong. Forth from them are to proceed such 
measures of policy as will produce a general war. These political 
measures are symbolized as " unclean spirits." They are " spirits" 
or influences, exerted through the policy of the three governments; 
and " unclean, " because nothing clean can proceed out of ^uch 
mouths. Rome, Vienna, and Constantinople, are so many centres of 
intrigue, whence proceeds the evil that is to ruin the beast. I say 
Rome, which, however, is not strictly correct. It should be, wherever 
the false prophet is for the time being, whether at Gaeta, or at 
Portici ; for it is exceedingly questionable, if ever he reside again in 
Rome. Then from Vienna, Constantinople, and the locality of the 
false prophet, are to go forth to " the kings of the earth," and to 
" the kings of the whole habitable," the results of these intrigues, 
which will stir up all their propensities to war. The " kings of the 
earth " are here distinguished from the " kings of the habitable." 
The former are the kings of Germany and Russia, &c. ; while the 
latter are the kings of Roman Europe, such as of Belgium, France, 
Spain, Portugal, Sardinia, Naples, and Greece. They are all to be 
involved in war by the "unclean spirits " of the three demons, whose 
policy will bring about results that will ruin themselves, and astonish 
the world. 

But why are these three political influences likened to frogs ? "I 
saw," says the apostle, " three unclean spirits like frogs come out 
of these mouths." The interpretation, I conceive, is this. The frogs 
are the heraldic symbol of a power, which at the prophetic crisis is 
to be the proximate cause of the several policies which characterize 
the demon-mouths. That is to say, if this frog-power had not struck 
out a new course of operation which deranged every thing, there 
would have been no ground for the Sultan, the emperor, and the pope, 
to change their policy, and all things would have gone on as usual. 
The frogs, therefore, and " the spirits," stand related to each other 
as cause and effect, the demons being only the media through which 
the frog-power brings about the destruction of the two-horned beast 
and the false prophet ; and at the same time brings upon the arena a 
power which is to unjewel the horns, repress the frog-power itself, 
and build up the image of Nebuchadnezzar, preparatory to its being 
shivered to pieces on the mountains of Israel. In other words, the 
scenery of the thirteenth and fourteenth verses of this chapter is a 
symbolical representation of the working of things, when " the 
Judgment sits, and they shall take away his dominion to consume and 
to destroy it to the cnd. y * l Who "they" are to whom the work 

' Dan. vU. 26. 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 339 

of destruction is committed is obvious from the twenty-second vers.', 
where it is written, "judgment was given to the saints," that is, of 
the Median class, who do their work previously to "the people of the 
saints," or saints of the holy city, assuming the ruling-judgment 
" under the whole heaven." 

Now, from the evidence I am about to adduce, I think, I shall be 
able to convince the reader, that " the Frogs " are the symbol of the 
French democracy, the old enemy of the Beasts and their Image. 
The testimony to establish this is as follows. 

1. Montfaucon, in his Monumens de la Monarchic Francaise, p. 4, 
plate vi., gives a Frog as one of the monuments of the French king, 
Childeric ; thus writing respecting it, " 3. Another medal represent- 
ing afroy, which was also an Egyptian symbol." This was found 
A.D. 1G23, at St. Erice, near Tournay, with other things belonging 
to Childeric. He reigned A.D. 456. That is, before the Franks 
acknowledged the Roman Bishop. 




[Medal of a Frog found in fee temb of Childeric L] 



2. In the " Monde Primitif, compare avec le Monde Moderne," 
par M. Court de Gebelin, Paris, 1781, the author thus writes, p. 
181, " Nous venons de voir que les Armoiries de la Guyenne sont 
un leopard, celles des Celtes (surtout les Belgiques) etoient un Hon, 
et celles des Francs un crapaud. Le crapaud designe les marais 
dont sortirent les Francs." And again, on p. 195, " La Cosmo- 
graphie de Munster (1. ii.) nous a transmit un fait tres remarquable 
dans ce genre. Marcomir, Roi des Francs, ayant penetre de la 
Westphalie dans le Tongre, vit en songe une figure a trois tetes, 1' une 
de Hon, l'autre d'a/gle, la troisieme de crapaud. II consulta la 
dessus, ajoute on, un celebre Druide de la contree, appele Al 
Runus ; et celuici l'assura que cette figure designoit les trois 
puissances qui auroient regne successivemens sur les Gaules ; les 
Celtes dont le symbole etoit le lion, les Romains designes par Yaifjle, 
et les Francs par le crapaud, a, cause de leur marais." * 

* The following translation will serve for those who do not understand French.— In M. Court de 
Gebelin's work, styled ' The Primitive World compared with the Modern World," he says, "The 
armorial bearings of Guyenne are n leppanl ; those of the Celts (especially of the Belgians) are 
<i lion; and of the French a frog. The Frog represents the marshes whence the French originated." 
And again, " The Cosmography of Munster has transmitted to us a very remarkable fact of this 
kind. Marcomir, king of the French, having penetrated from Westphalia into Tongres, saw in a 
aream a figure with three heads, the one of a n<>:> , the other of an eagle, and the third of a frog. 
He con-ulted there, it is ad^ed, a celebrated druid of the country, named Al Ilunus ; who assured 
rim that this figure represented the three powers which had reigned successively over the Gauls; the 
Celts whose symbol was the lion ; the Romans designated by the eagle, and the Francs by t\\efrog t 
because of their marshes." 



340 



THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 



3. In the sixth century, xlvi of the prophecies of Nostra Dam us 
(p. *251) translated by Garencieres of London, 1672, occur the 
following lines : 

Unjuste sera un exil envoye 
Par pestilence aux confins de non seigle; 
Response au rouge le fera desvoye, 
Roi retirant a la Rane et a 1' aigle. 

On which, Garencieres observes : " by the eagle he meaneth the 
emperor ; and by the frog, the king of France ; for, before he took 
the fleur de luce, the French bore three frogs." 

4. In Pynson's edition of Fabyan's Chronicle, at the beginning of 
the account of Pharamond (the first king of the Franks who reigned 
at Treves about A.D. 420) there is a shield of arms bearing three 
frogs, (p. 37, Ellis' edit.) ; with the words beneath, 




[This iB the Olde Armys of France.] 



The banner underneath, having upon it the three frogs, is from 
ancient tapestry in the cathedral of Rheims, representing battle scenes 
of Clovis, who is said to have been baptized there after his conver- 
sion to Romanism. 




[The Banner of Clorifc } 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OP GOD. 341 

The next engraving is from the Franciscan church at Innspruck; 
where is a row of tall bronze figures, twenty-three in number, repre- 
senting principally the most distinguished personages of the House 
of Austria ; the armor and costumes being those chiefly of the 16th 
century, and the workmanship excellent. Among them is Clovis, 
king of France, and on his shield three fieur de lis and three frogs, 
with the words underneath, " Clodovceus der i Christenlich kunig von 
Frankreich;" that is, Clovis the first christian king of France. 




[Armorial Shield of Clovis.] 

1. Uptonus de Militari Officio, p. 155, states that three frogs were 
the old arms of France, without specifying what race of kings. 

2. Professor Schott supposes the three frogs to have been distinctly 
the original arms of the Bourbons ; bourbe signifying mud. This 
may have been the case. When their family became the dynasty of 
France, they probably assumed the frogs as their arms, being kings 
of the Franks, whose symbol it had been so long. The Bourbons 
arose out of the mud which is natural to frogs, and by the revolution 
of 1848 are deep in the mud again ! 

3. Typoticus, p. 75, gives as the device on a coin of Louis VI., 
the last French king before Hugh Capet, the first of the Bourbons, 
a frog with the inscription Mihi terra lacusque, land and water 
are mine. 

4. In the " Encyclopoedia Metropolitana," on Heraldry, it is stated 
that " Paulus Emilius blazons the arms of France, argent three 
diadems gules ;" others say, they bear three toads, sable in a field 
vert (ap. Gwillim, c. 1.) which, if ever they did, it must have been 
before the existence of the present rules. " 

Such is the testimony I have to offer in the case before us. The 
conviction produced on my mind is, that the Frogs in the prophecy 
are the symbol of the French democratic power. It will be seen from 



342 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

the armorial shield of Clovis, that the frogs and the lillies were both 
used as symbols. They are both indigenous to wet, or marshy, lands, 
and therefore very fit emblems of the French, who came originally 
from the marshes of Westphalia. But on the shield of Pharamond, 
so far back as A.D. 420, the frogs without the lillies appear in the 
armorial bearings of the Franks ; and in the medal of Childeric I. 
there is no lilly, but the frog only. It would therefore seem from this, 
that the lillies were not in the original arms, but superadded many 
years after ; and at length adopted by the Bourbons as the symbol of 
their race in its dominion over the frogs. These, then, represent the 
nation, and the lilLes, ovjieur de lis, the ruling dynasty. Now, if the 
apostle had said, " I saw three unclean spirits like lillies come out of 
the Mouths," he would have intimated by such a similitude that the 
French Bourbons were the cause of the " unclean spirits " issuing 
forth from the sultan, the emperor, and the Roman prophet. But he 
does not say this ; he says they were like frogs. The truth, then, is 
obvious. In A.D. 96, when John was an exile in Patmos, the 
Franks were 3avages in an unnamed country, living by hunting and 
fishing like American Indians. But the Holy Spirit revealed to him, 
that this people would play a conspicuous part in the affairs of 
nations ; and, foreseeing by what symbol they would represent them- 
selves, he symbolized their nation by it, and styled them " Frogs" 
He informed him, that under the sixth vial their influence would be 
remarkably apparent. That the Frog-nation would have much to do 
with the dragon, beast, and false prophet ; in fact, that so intimate 
and direct would their dealing be with them, that its effect would be 
perceived in the warlike tendency and influence of the measures pro- 
ceeding from the sultan, the emperor, and the pope ; who, being so 
completely entangled in the complications created by the policy of 
the Frog-power, would in their endeavours to extricate themselves, 
involve the whole habitable in war, which would end in the destruc- 
tion of the two-horned beast, and the false prophet, and in the 
subjugation of the surviving horns to a new Imperial dominion for a 
time. 

The foregoing analyses of the eleventh, and sixteenth, chapters of 
Revelation will be found in no other book that I am aware of. It is 
entirely new. But, as I have said before, no interpretation of pro- 
phecy in relation to the past, or present, is worth any thing, which is 
not in harmony with facts. My interpretation must be tried by the 
same rule, and if it will not stand the test, then let it fade away into 
everlasting forgetfulness ; but if it prove to be correct, I have no 
apprehension that it will be lost. Facts, then, I remark, are in strict 
accordance with the exposition given, as I shall briefly point out. 

In the last week of Feb. '48 the Parisian democracy, ever foremost in 
revolution, plucked the Bourbon Lilly from its throne, and thrust it 
deep into its native mud. This dynasty of a thousand years was 
abolished, and the nation resumed its original Westphalian right of 
choosing a ruler better suited to its taste. The Fleur de lis being 
thrown aside, the Frogs by a vote of six millions set over themselves 
the nephew of their democratic emperor, who had done suck good 



IN THEfB RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 343 

service in executing judgment upon their enemies. The president of 
the French Republic is therefore the incarnation of the Frog-power, 
as the Bourbons were of the beast while ruling the tenth of the 
kingdoms. From February the outbreaks of the democracy in other 
countries became frequent and formidable ; and the National Assem- 
bly and its Provisional Government constituted in fact the Parlia- 
ment and executive of the democracy throughout Europe. Under 
the shadow of their favor Germany and Italy became insurgent, and 
Hungary followed in the wake of insurrection. The earth shook on 
every side. Urged on by its democracy, Sardinia attacked the 
Beast ; and, provoked by the treachery of the false prophet, the 
people of Rome rose, and scared him into exile. After this, the 
plucking up of the Lombard kingdom by the roots, and the defeat of 
the Sardinian horn at Novara, by which the Little Horn became 
triumphant in Italy, caused the Frogs to seize on Rome that their inter- 
ests in the Peninsular might be preserved from annihilation. By this 
move the Frog-nation placed itself in antagonism to the two-horned 
Beast and the false prophet. The Frogs invite the prophet to return to 
Rome ; in other words, to put himself in their power, for which, with 
the experience of French hospitality towards his predecessors before 
his eyes, and the treatment he has already received in Rome, he has 
not the smallest inclination, notwithstanding all his professions to the 
contrary. If he were to return, he could not remain there twenty- 
four hours in the absence of a strong military force ; and the Frogs 
will consent to no other than their own ; for they occupied Rome, not 
out of love to the pope, but as a check upon Austria in Italy. The 
truth is, Austria and the pope are natural allies; and are as intimately 
related as the eyes and mouth of a man are to the man himself. 
Their fortunes are inseparable. The fate of one is the fate of both, 
even perdition by the burning flame of w r ar. 

The army of the Frog-power has seized upon Rome, and the false 
prophet will not return, because he regards the Frogs as his real foes. 
If the Austrians had possession of the city he would go back in 
triumph ; but this not being the case, he is obliged to temporize until 
the times be more propitious. After this manner, then, the Frogs 
have become an obstacle in the way of Austria and the pope, who 
are both desirous of their expulsion from Rome. They have become 
the occasion of unclean spirits proceeding from the emperor and the 
Roman prophet, which will yet embroil them all, and in the end 
accomplish the destruction of the Austro-papal dominion. 

In regard to the Sultan, the Frogs are seen exerting their influence 
upon him. They have assured him of their support in case of his 
being attacked by Russia. This promise is sure to bring on a war 
between the Porte and the Autocrat. If the Sultan had been left to 
himself, being weak, he would have yielded and so have avoided war; 
but being energized by France and England, two strong military and 
naval powers, the Sultan feels himself a match for Russia, and 
prepared to assume a bold and warlike attitude. But these assurances 
will only lure him on to ruin. No powers, however strong, can save 
dominions fore-doomed o* God. Their friendship for the sultan will 



344 THE KINGDOMS ,F THE WORLD 

be as fatal to him, as the friendship of England for Austria and the 
pope were to them in the days of Napoleon. The autocrat, being 
God's sword upon Turkey, will be too strong for them both ; for in 
the tumult and confusion created by the measures of the sultan, the 
emperor, and the Roman bishop, their several dominions will be 
abolished, and the autocrat remain lord of the ascendant. 

If the reader take a survey of Europe as exhibited in the events of 
the last two years, he will see the view I have presented still further 
illustrated. The pope and the emperor have been the principals who 
have brought about the wars on the continent. The unclean spirit of 
the Little Horn went forth to Russia and brought down its hosts upon 
Hungary; it is also going forth to Prussia in opposition to the demo- 
cratic constitution it is developing at Erfurt ; and, in concert with 
Russia, it has gone forth to the sultan, with whom it has interrupted 
its former amicable relations. Before the pope consented to be 
restored by France, an unclean spirit went forth from him likewise, 
and brought the Austrians, Neapolitans, and Spaniards, into his states, 
when he found the Frogs could not be excluded. I pointed these 
things out to thousands of people in my lectures, and told them, that 
in regard to Hungary they were deceiving themselves if they imagined 
the Magyars would succeed in their war of independence. That 
Hungary was a brittle toe-kingdom, and one of the three horns 
which were to be "plucked up by the roots " by the Little Horn. 
Meetings of sympathy for the Hungarians were being held throughout 
England; and news arriving every week of Austrian defeats, and 
Magyar victories. Still, I said, if I have fallen upon the true princi- 
ples of interpretation, it is impossible for the Hungarians to triumph. 
So certainly incorrect did some regard this view of the matter, that 
they said, when I returned to London I should have to expunge 
what I had advanced about Hungary from the manuscript before I 
published this book. A preacher who had listened to me at one 
place, was so convinced of my error, that in his next discourse he 
predicted the certain triumph of the "brave Hungarians " overall 
their enemies. But, alas for him. Men should never prophecy of 
the future from present appearances. Though these were against my 
exposition, I was persuaded 't would turn out in the end as I had 
said; ami I added furthermore, that "an unclean spirit" was to go 
forth out of the mouth of the dragon, as well as from the mouths of 
the beast and of the false prophet; but that while we could discern 
" the spirits" issuing forth from these, we did not yet perceive one 
issuing from the sultan : nevertheless, though then calm and tranquil, 
we should soon see a warlike disposition manifest itself in his policy 
growing out of the Hungarian war. The unclean spirit of the Little 
Horn had brought the Russians into Hungary, which would only 
whet their appetites for Turkey, whom they would prepare to devour 
next. In two or three weeks after making these statements, which as 
I have said before, were not whispered in a corner, but spoken before 
thousands, all Europe was astounded by the news of Gbrgey's sur- 
render, and the ruin of the Magyar cause. The details are known to 
every one. And as I had said, so it came to pass, Turkish sympathy 



I\- THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 3lO 

with the Hungarians, and hospitality to the refugees, was made a 
casus bdll by the autocrat; and on the refusal of the sultan to violate 
it, diplomatic relations were broken off between Russia, Austria, and 
Turkey; and the " unclean spirit" energized by the Frogs, exhibits 
even the sultan as a belligerent. 

The mission, then, of these three demons for the brief period which 
remains of their political existence, is to stir up the nations to war, 
which will redound to their own destruction. The press is prophesying 
smooth things, and persuading the world of the moderation of the 
Autocrat, and of the good intentions of Austria and the pope ! It 
has told us several times that the extradition affair was composed and 
that peace between Russia and Turkey will not be interrupted ; and 
as often it unsays what it had before affirmed. But, the reader need 
place no reliance upon newspaper speculations. Their scribes know 
not what God has revealed, consequently their reasonings are vain, 
and sure to take a wrong direction. As records of facts, the journals 
are invaluable ; but if a person permit his opinions to be formed by 
the views presented in leading articles, and the letters of " our own 
correspondents," he will be continually mislead, and compelled to 
eat his words for evermore. The Bible is the enlightener. If men 
would not be carried about by every wind that blows, let them study 
this. It will unfold to them the future, and make them wiser than 
the world. The coming years will not be years of peace. The 
policy of the Autocrat will be to throw his adversaries off their guard, 
and take the Sultan by surprise. He is to " come against him like a 
whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships ; 
and he will enter into the countries, and overflow and pass over. 
And many countries shall be overthrown." * This is the career 
marked out for him ; which neither France, nor England, nor the 
world combined can obstruct, or circumvent. 

In dismissing this part of the subject, it is necessary to call the 
attention of the reader to a very important intimation in connexion 
with the prophecy of the " unclean spirits like frogs." This part of 
the prediction is contained in four verses, that is, from the thirteenth 
to the sixteenth inclusive. Now, if the reader will examine the 
passage, he will find that there is a break in the prophecy. That is 
to say, the subject of the spirits of demons gathering the kings of 
the whole habitable to war, is suddenly and entirely dropped ; and 
an altogether different subject introduced. This new topic is nothing less 
than the appearance of him who sent and signified the contents of 
the apocalypse to his servant John. c " Behold," says he, " I come 
as A thief. Blessed is he that watchMh, and keepeth his garments, 
lest he walk naked, and they see his shame." Then, in the next 
verse, the former subject is revived, and it is revealed, that the angel 
of the sixth vial gathers the kings and their armies into the battle 
field of Armageddon ; where, as we learn from other testimony, they 
encounter the Lamb upon whom they make war, without knowing, 
probably, that he is the commander of the forces with which they 
are contending. 3 

i Dan. xi. -10, 41. ' Rev. i. 1. 3 Rev< xvil . u . xix# 19< 2 l. 



346 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

Now, does it not strike the reader as remarkable that the coning 
of the Lord should be introduced in a prophecy like that concerning 
the frogs ? But singular as it may seem it is by no means accidental, 
but the best possible place for it, because it is intimately connected 
with their operations. It is mercifully introduced as a naming of 
what is about to happen ai the crisis, that the believer may not be 
taken at unawares. It speaks to us in effect, saying, " When you 
perceive the policy of the frog-power acting upon the demon of 
Turkey, the demon of Austria, and the demon of Romanism, so as 
to cause them to assume an attitude tending to embroil the nations, 
you may then know that I, the Lord, am about to revisit the world 
stealthily." Christ says, " Behold, I come as a thief" That is, he 
comes as a thief comes when he is bent on stealing. A thief not only 
comes unexpectedly, but he gets into the house with secresy. John, 
indeed, says " He cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him, 
even those (/«« oitivs?) who pierced him ; and all the tribes of the 
land shall mourn in his presence (*?r 'avrov") 1 This, however, is 
affirmed of his appearance in Israel, when he shall make himself 
known to his brethren after the type of Joseph ; e which will be 
subsequently to the great battle in the valley of Megiddo. The 
185,000 Assyrians in the reign of Hezekiah felt the vengeance of the 
destroyer, but they saw him not; so I believe it will be at the battle 
of Armageddon, the kings and their armies will be overcome with 
dreadful slaughter, but they will not see the Avenger's person. The 
work of the succeeding forty years requires that so signal a revelation 
be witheld from them. Israel and the saints of the holy city will see 
the Lord ; but not the nations at large. The divine majesty is not 
prodigal of its manifestations. Men in the flesh, therefore, will, I 
apprehend, believe in the presence of the Lord on earth as its imperial 
and pontifical ruler, as nations now believe in the existence and 
sovereignty of the autocrat, the sultan, the emperor, or the pope, of 
whom they have heard by the report of others, but whom they have 
not seen, and perhaps may never behold. Men profess now to believe 
that the Lord Jesus is at the right hand of God ; but hereafter they 
will believe that he is "reigning in Jerusalem before his Ancients 
gloriously ; " 3 and their faith if made perfect by works, will, doubtless, 
as now, be counted to them for righteousness. 

But, let the reader, observe, that in connexion with the warning 
given, a blessing is pronounced on those who are heedful of the signs 
of the times. " Blessed," says Jesus, " is he that watcheth." Now 
no one can watch without light. If the heavens be dark, the watch- 
roan must be provided with a light, or he cannot watch. By gazing 
at the natural luminaries as some professors are accustomed to do, 
no light can be derived, nor signs observed premonitory of the coming 
of the Lord. This is "the way of the heathen," and "a custom 
which is vain. " 4 The natural heavens are impenetrably dark in 
relation to his appearing. The believer, or spiritual watchman, must 
take "the sure word of prophecy/' which is the only "light" 
capable of enlightening him in the surrounding gloom. This world 

' Rev. i. 7. ' Zech. xiii. 10— 14. a Isaiah xxiv. 23. * Jer. x. 2. ".. 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 347 

is " a dark place " and its cosmopolites who understand not the 
prophetic word mere embodiments of fog. If we understand u the 
word of the kingdom " we shall " shine as lights in the world," and 
be enabled to rejoice in the approach of " the day of Christ." By 
the " shining light of prophecy " we shall be able to interpret the 
signs which God has revealed as appearing in the political heavens 
and earth. Events among the nations of the Roman habitable, and 
not atmospheric phenomena, are the signs of the coming of the 
Lord as a thief; whose nature, whether signs or not, can only be 
determined by " the testimony of God." 

From the whole, then, there can be no doubt in the mind of a true 
believer. He discerns the sign given under the sixth vial as manifestly, 
and believes as assuredly that the Lord is at hand, as they who 
observed the sun setting in Syrian splendor knew that the coming 
day would be glorious. Be not deceived, then, by the syren-voices of 
the peace-prophets. Ere long the last and most terrible of wars will 
break out. The beast and the false prophet will be destroyed, and 
the Lord will come as a thief in the night. Let this conviction work 
out its intended results. The blessing is not simply to him that 
watcheth ; but to him that " watcheth and keepeth his garments" 
Simply to believe that the Lord is near, and to be able to discern the 
signs of the times, will not entitle a man to the blessing. He must 
" buy gold tried in the fire ; and white raiment, that he may be 
clothed, and that the shame of his nakedness do not appear ; and 
anoint his eyes with eye-salve, that he may see." * In other words, 
he must believe " the things concerning the kingdom of God and the 
name of Jesus Christ ; " follow the example of the Samaritans and 
be baptized into the name of the Holy Ones ; and thenceforth perfect 
his faith by his works, as Abraham did. He will then be a lamp, well 
oiled and trimmed, and fit to shine forth as a glorious light at the 
marriage of the Lamb. A community of such persons in a city, 
constitutes the Lamb's wife there, prepared for the corning of the 
Lord. He is arrayed in fine linen, clean and white ; for the fine 
linen represents the righteousness of the saints ;" 2 who have " washed 
their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." 
Therefore they will be " before the throne of God, and serve him 
day and night in his temple (or kingdom :) and he that sitteth upon 
the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, 
neither thirst any more ; neither shall the sun light on them, nor anv 
heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed 
them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters ; and God 
shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." 3 The representative 
number of their aggregate is 144,000 ; 4 and their representative 
measure 144 cubits. 5 " These are they who (in the days of their 
flesh) were not defiled with women ; for they are virgins. These are 
they who follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were 
redeemed from among men, being the first-fruits unto God, and to 
the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile : for they are. 
without fault before the throne of God." At present, they are the 

' Rev. iii. 18. ' Rev. six. 7. 8. 3 Rev. vii. 14—17. * Rev. xiv. 1—3. * Rev. xxi. 17. 



348 THK KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

"holy city trodden under foot of the Gentiles ;" but when changed 
and raised from the dead, and exalted to meet the Lord in the air, 
and are seen descending thence towards Zion, they are " the great 
city, the new and holy Jerusalem, having the glory of God." 1 

This, then, is the great desideratum of the age, namely, the pre- 
paration of a people for the Lord; a people whose character shall 
answer to the testimonies adduced. " The churches " do not contain 
such a people, neither can their pulpit ministrations produce them. 
In fact, " the churches " are precisely what college divinity is alone 
competent to create. " The truth as it is in Jesus " is not taught in 
the schools. They are mere nurseries of pride, professional religion, 
and conceit; and "the droppings of the sanctuary " which their nurse- 
lings are appointed to distil, wear away the intelligence of the people, 
and leave them irresponsive to " the testimony of God." Nothing 
short of this, unmixed with the traditions of men, can make people 
what they must be if they would inherit his kingdom. Other gospels 
will make other kinds of christians than those who believe the gospel 
the apostles preached. We must forsake the pulpits, and devote the 
time usually spent in dozing over their mar-text expositions, to the 
Berean scrutiny of the scriptures for ourselves. These alone are 
able to make us wise unto salvation through the faith which is in 
Christ Jesus. Hearing " sermons " is not " hearing the word." It 
is this we must hear if we would have faith ; for lt faith comes by 
hearing the word of God." If the gospel of the kingdom were 
preached in " the churches," and believed, there would be no more 
complaints of want of spirituality and life. There would be so much 
of these, that they would be too hot to hold the worldlings who 
overshadow them with the wings of death. They would go out from 
them, because they were not of them. Let the well disposed in " the 
churches" try the experiment, and they will soon discover the truth 
of what is here stated. The time is come in which there must be no 
faint-heartedness, and when a courageous testimony must be borne 
for the word of the kingdom. Ministerial favor and popularity 
must be utterly disregarded ; and the question be, not " what saitli 
the minister ?" or '* what will people think ? " It matters not what 
they say, or think, in the case ; the simple question is, ''How is it 
written?" " What saith the word ? " Let this course be pursued in 
candor, and I doubt nor, but in a short time a people will spring up 
in this island prepared for the Lord, whom he will acknowledge at 
his return. 

1 Rev. xi. 2 ; xxi. 2, 9, 10, II 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 349 



CHAPTER IV. 

The vision and prophecy of the East— Of the Ram and the Unicorn — The Four 
Horns of the (i oat— Of the fifth, or Little, Horn— Of the Seventy Weeks— Of the 
1290 years— Summary of the eleventh of Dani. 1 — Paraphrase of the first thirty- 
five verses of Dan. xi. — Of the king and the strange god — Mahuzzhn- bazaars. 



The Greco-Roman Dragon, or Fourth Beast, is a symbol which 
represents the dominion of the whole habitable ; of a greater extent 
of territory than the empire of pagan Rome, by so much as is 
included in the countries of the Little Horn, which lie beyond the 
frontiers of the old dominion. But although this symbol covers all 
this territory, as it were, it was as impossible to signify by it every 
thing necessary to be represented as it was by Nebuchadnezzar's 
Image. The Four Beasts were illustrations of the Image. This was 
especially the case with the fourth. But, even by these additional 
symbols many very important details were left unrepresented. 
Hence, the Fourth Beast has been itself illustrated by the apocalyptic 
symbols of the dragon, the ten-horned Beast, the two-horned Beast, 
and the image of the sixth head of the ten-horned Beast, which was 
also the sixth head of the dragon. But notwithstanding all these 
symbols have been given, all of them in some particular illustrative 
of the Image, there remains a highly interesting portion of literal 
prophecy unsymbolized. The above-named symbols introduce us to 
the knowledge of things which history has verified, and to events 
which belong to " the time of the end." They represent the great 
truth of the destruction of the Sin-power, and the setting up of the 
kingdom of God ; but of the events connected with the subjects of 
that kingdom, there is a representation that needs to be supplied by 
other symbols with their appropriate description. These are found in 
Daniel's vision of the east. 

But why, it may be asked, has all this symbolography been intro- 
duced into the Bible ? The answer is, to illustrate the relations of 
the Sin-power to " the holy people " i in the eastern and western 
divisions of the Roman^empire. By the holy people is meant the 
twelve tribes of Israel, and the two witnesses, including also the 
saints of the holy city among the Gentiles. The Roman power, under 
its several constitutions, has been the destroyer of " Judah and his 
companions," and the slayer of the christians grafted into the stock 
of Israel, and of those associated with them for their defence against 
the Beast. The ten horns and Little Horn of the Fourth Beast 
represent the Roman power of the West in its contest with the two 
witnesses ; but there still remained to be represented, the Roman 
dragonic power of the East, as the desolator of Canaan and the 
destroyer of the Jews, who are the political subjects of the kingdom 

'Dan. Tlii.24; ill. 7 



350 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

which the God of heaven will set up when he demolishes the Image 
on the mountains of Israel. 

To supply this desideratum the symbols of the eighth chapter, and 
the exposition of them in the ninth and eleventh chapters, were 
revealed to Daniel. These may be styled the vision and prophecy of 
the East / while the Fourth Beast is the vision of the West / both 
of which are set forth briefly and unitedly in the image of divers 
metals. Having said as much as is necessary to the comprehension 
of our subject respecting the things which relate to the saints and the 
Western powers, our attention will henceforth be confined to a brief 
exposition of the vision and prophecy of the East. 

The reader is invited to peruse the eighth chapter of Daniel. 
About three years after the vision of the Four Beasts, the prophet 
saw another vision in which there were only two, namely, a Ram 
and He-goat. The former had two horns of unequal height, and 
u the higher came up last" In the twentieth verse we are informed 
that the horns represent " the kings of Media and Persia." Hence 
the Ram symbolizes the Medo-Persian power, with its two dynasties 
which were not contemporary, but came up one after the other, the 
Median first, and then the Persian. Having established itself, the 
Medo-Persians pushed their conquests westward towards Greece, 1 
northward towards Armenia, and southward towards Egypt and 
Ethiopia ; so that no powers could stand before them, nor was there 
any dominion strong enough to deliver the conquered nations from 
their yoke. 

Things continued thus about two centuries from the death of 
Belshatzar, when a power arose in the west which was represented to 
Daniel by an unicorn, that is, by a goat with one horn. This was 
the Macedonian kingdom ; and the horn, its first king, or Alexander 
the Great. He is styled in the vision u a notable horn ;" and in the 
prophecy "a mighty king, ruling with great dominion, and doing 
according to his will." 2 The Ram's dominion is represented by the 
silver part of the image, and the Goat's by the brazen, " which bare 
rule over all the earth." War broke out between these two powers, 
which ended in the breaking off of the Ram's two horns ; so that 
the hundred and twenty-seven provinces of the Ram, stretching from 
India to Ethiopia, were transferred to the Macedonian victor. Now, 
"when he stood up," or "was strong," "his kingdom," or "great 
horn was broken, and instead of it came up four notable horns 
toward the four winds (wings) of heaven ;" that is, "four kingdoms 
stood up out of the nation." These have been enumerated on page 
297 in speaking of the four heads of the Leopard, which represent 
the same things as the four horns. Of the horns, it is said, " they 
stood up not in his power, " which is interpreted to signify, that the 
power of the kingdoms did not accrue " to the first king's prosperity ; 
for his kingdom was plucked up for others beside them. 

-Now, in the latter time of these four Macedonian kingdoms, a 
fifth power made its appearance among them, and subdued them all. 
This is represented in the vision by a Little Horn growing up out 0/ 

x Dan. xi. 2. 2 Dan. xi. 3. 



IN THEIR RELATION- TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 351 

one of the four horns ; and in the prophecy, as " a king doing accord- 
ing to his will." 1 Though relatively small in its beginnings, this 
fifth power " waxed exceeding great, toward the south, or Egypt ; 
toward the east, or Euphrates; and toward the pleasant land of 
Canaan. The history of the kingdoms into which Alexander's 
dominion was broken, enables us to determine what fifth power is 
represented by the little horn of the goat, and upon which of the 
four horns it made its appearance in relation to the land of Israel, 
which is the arena of the latter time of the vision and prophecy. 
The Little Horn, then, is representative of the dragon's power in the 
East, that is, of the Roman ; which was planted on the Assyro- 
Macedonian Horn B. C. 65, when it became a province of the dragon 
empire. It continued to wax exceeding great in these countries 
until it established its dominion over Syria, Palestine, part of Arabia, 
and Egypt. The tenth, eleventh, and twelfth verses, represent the 
part it was to enact in the overthrow of the Jewish state ; and the 
twenty-fifth outlines its ecclesiastical policy, and its exaltation against 
the Prince of princes in " the last end of the indignation," when it 
11 shall be broken without hand," that is, by the Stone of Israel when 
he smites the Image on the feet. 

We see, then, that Daniel treats of two Little Horns ; the one the 
"Holy Roman" power of the west that came up "after" the Ten 
Horns ; and the other, the Pagan Roman power of the east that 
appeared in Syria and Palestine in the latter end of the Macedonian 
kingdoms, and before the Ten Horns by many centuries. The Little 
Horns are representative of powers on certain territories, not of 
races. It matters not whether they be pagan Romans, catholic 
Greeks, Moslem Turks, or Greek-catholic Russians, the power that 
rules in Constantinople and plants its standard in Assyria, is the 
Little Horn of the Assyro-Macedonian Horn of the Goat ; and 
begins its career by crucifying " the Prince of the Host; " 2 destroy- 
ing Jerusalem and the temple ; 3 sets up a god in Rome whom liis 
fathers knew not ; 4 and ends by standing up against Michael, the 
Prince of princes, who brings him to his end, with none to help 
him. 5 All the power of the dragon in relation to Israel and the land 
of promise is embodied in the Little Horn of the East. The smiting 
of the Image, the breaking of the Goat's little horn, and the binding 
of the dragon, are synchronous and synonymous catastrophies ; and 
" the Stone," " the Prince of princes," " Messiah the prince," and 
" Michael the great prince who stands up for Israel," are but different 
titles by which the Lord Jesus is designated, who is to descend from 
heaven and fight the battle of God Almighty against them, 

Such, then, was " the vision " which was understood by none. 
At the time it was revealed, Jerusalem and the temple were in ruins, 
and Israel dispersed among the Gentiles. The time, however, had 
approached to within two years of the period of restoration. Daniel 
being aware of this from the testimony of Jeremiah, made confession 
of sins, and supplicated the return of national prosperity. His 
prayer was heard, and " the man Gabriel," who had given him the 

lDan. xi. 30. aDan. viii. 11. 3Dan. ix. 26. *Dan. xi. 38. sDan. viii 25 ; xi, 45 ; xii. 1. 



352 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

interpretation of the symbols of the vision, was sent forth to cl give 
him skill and understanding" of that part of the vision of the Ram 
and the Goat, which had reference to the subject of his prayer ; and 
to communicate some additional particulars. "The matter" revealed 
is termed the prophecy of the seventy weeks. In this he was informed 
that a decree should be made for the restoration of the Jewish state ; 
but that at a subsequent period the city and temple should be again 
destroyed ; and that this second destruction should be followed by a 
desolation of the country which should continue till that determined 
should be poured out upon the desolator, that is, on the Little Horn 
of the goat in " the time of the end." 

But, he was informed, that between the restoration from Babylon 
and the second destruction of the city, the following important events 
would come to pass, namely, first, the transgression of the law of 
Moses would be put an end to ; secondly, an end would be made of 
sin-offerings by causing the sacrifice and oblation to cease ; thirdly, 
reconciliation would be made for iniquity by cutting off Messiah the 
prince ; fourthly, everlasting righteousness, as opposed to the tempo- 
rary righteousness of the law, would be brought in ; fifthly, the 
vision and the prophecy would be sealed up in the confirmation of 
the covenant ; and sixthly, the Most Holy would be Anointed. 
These things were to be brought about by the instrumentality of the 
Little Horn of the goat; who should "magnify himself against the 
Prince of the host (of Israel), and by him the daily (sacrifice and 
oblation) should be taken away, and the place of his sanctuary (the 
temple) be cast down. To effect this " an army (the people of the 
Prince that should come) should be given him against th« daily ;" 
because the transgressors in Israel " had come to the full." There- 
fore he should " cast down the truth (the law and covenant of Sinai) 
to the ground," and " prosper and practise, and destroy the mighty 
and the holy people." 

But when should this second destruction of the city and temple 
be 1 ? This was a question which Gabriel could not answer. When 
Jesus was discoursing upon the same topic, four of the apostles 
addressed him privately, saying, " Tell us, when shall these things 
heV But, after giving them certain signs by which they might 
know that the desolation was approaching, he added, "Of that day 
and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, 
neither the Son, but the Father." 1 It was a secret reserved in the 
power of the Father only. But if the time when " a host should be 
given to the Little Horn of the Goat against the city and temple" 
was withheld, precise information was granted concerning the time 
when the things testified in the twenty-fourth verse of the ninth 
chapter, and the cutting off of Messiah, the prince, should come to 
pass. They were to be accomplished in a period of seventy weeks 
of years from the promulgation of a certain decree, that is, after 490 
years. Two years after this was revealed to him, Daniel's heart was 
rejoiced by the proclamation of Cyrus in the first year of his reign, 
fur the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. 2 But had he reckoned 

l Mark xiii. 3, 4, 32. 2 2 Chron. xxxvi. 22, 23. 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 353 

the 490 years from this date, they would have terminated 13 years 
before Messiah was born. The seventy weeks, however, were not to 
commence with a decree for rebuilding the temple; but " from the 
going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem;" in 
other words, to restore the wastes of the city by setting up the wall 
and the gates thereof, that Israel's reproach might cease. 1 This was 
issued by Artaxerxes on the first day of Nisan in the twentieth year of 
his reign, which was exactly 490 years to the crucifixion. No date 
of any other decree answers the demand of " the matter j" therefore, 
there is no option but to receive it as a demonstration by fact. 

Gabriel divided the seventy weeks of years into three portions, 
namely, into one of seven weeks ; another of sixty-two weeks ; and 
into a third of one week, which he subdivided into two half parts. 
The seven weeks, or 49 years, were allotted to the restoration of the 
state ; after the end of which. 434 years, or sixty-two weeks more, were 
to elapse to the manifesting of Messiah the prince. This was 483 
years to "the beginning of the gospel concerning Jesus Christ " 
announced by John the Baptist, 2 who came baptizing in water "that 
he might be made manifest to Israel." 3 From this date there remained 
seven years to the end of the 490. The seventieth week was the 
week in which the covenant was confirmed in the attestations which 
the Father gave to Jesus as his Son, and as the Seed of Abraham and 
of David, to whom he had promised the land of Canaan, and the king- 
dom and throne of David for an everlasting inheritance. The week 
of confirmation was divided between the ministry of John and that 
of Jesus. The former was engaged in baptizing the people into the 
hope of Messiah's immediate manifestation ; and when he was about 
finishing his work, Jesus was baptized, and publicly recognised 
before the assembled people, as the Son of God by a voice from the 
excellent glory. He was also anointed at the same time, and sealed, 
as the Most Holy One of Israel. John having now finished his 
ministry, was thrown into prison by Herod the tetrarch ; and Jesus 
being thirty years old, entered upon the work of the latter half part 
of the week, or three years and a half remaining to complete the 490. 
After he had passed some months of his ministry, he was warned by 
some Pharisees that Herod would kill him ; to which he replied, 
" Go tell that fox, Behold I cast out devils and do cures to-day and 
to-morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. Nevertheless, I 
must walk to-day, and to-morrow, and the day following ; for it 
cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem." 3 Besides showing 
that a day is sometimes used prophetically for a year, the Lord's 
reply shows also the period of his ministry as equivalent to the latter 
half part, at the end of which he expected to die, and afterwards to 
be perfected by a resurrection to life. Exactly to the month " he 
was cut off, but not for himself," 490 years after the decree of 
Artaxerxes in the twentieth of his reign. " The matter " revealed to 
Daniel, who was at the same time exhorted to " consider the vision," 
to a part of which it referred, was all accomplished as far as the 
seventy weeks were concerned. There only remained now the 

J Neh. ii. 1, 5, 17. > Mark i. 1. 3 John i. 31 * Luke iii. 15, 19, 20—23. 5 Luke xiii. SI— 34. 

Z 



354 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

destruction of the city and temple, the taking away of the sacrifice 
and the oblation, and subsequent desolation of the land, by the LitUe 
Horn of the Goat. Was that to succeed the crucifixion instanter, or 
after how long a time were these calamities to come to pass? As I 
have already shown, no one but God could tell; for he withheld the 
knowledge of it from every one but himself; and left it to reveal 
itself when the time of the judgment of Gehenna should arrive. 

At the end of the latter half-part of the week the Lord " caused the 
sacrifice and oblation to cease " as an acceptable offering for sin. 
The sacrifice of himself put an end to sin-offerings as far as believers 
in him were concerned. They still continued to be offered by the 
nation ; but when the people of the little horn should come to execute 
the work assigned them, even these should be violently interrupted ; 
for " the daily was to be taken away and the place of its sanctuary 
cast down." This was fully accomplished about 40 years after the 
crucifixion, that is, A.D. 72, being seventy five years from the birth 
of Christ. But why was it removed ? Why might not the Mosaic 
religion continue to be practised in Canaan, as well as the false 
religions of the Gentiles in the several countries of the earth ? 
Because " an abomination that maketh desolate" was to be "setup." 
Now, so long as the daily and its holy place continued, there would be 
no place for this abomination. The daily must therefore be removed 
to make way for it. They could not exist contemporarily ; neither 
does it follow that " the abomination " was to succeed the suppression 
of the daily immediately. The facts in the case forbid this conclusion. 
Palestine and Syria were for ages after populous, and wealthy, 
provinces of the Koman habitable. The notion that the duration of 
the abomination was to be dated from A.D. 72, is derived from the 
english version of Daniel twelfth chapter and eleventh verse. It is 
there written, " And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be 
taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate be set up, there 
shall be 1290 days." In the Hebrew the italic words are not in the 
text. Leaving out these words, or rather, giving a more literal version 
without supplying any words at all, the passage appears intelligible 
enough. " And at the time of vengeance the daily shall be taken 
away, in order to set up an abomination that maketh desolate a 
thousand two hundred and ninety days." This rendering agrees with 
the facts in the case. The daily was taken away at the time of 
vengeance, 1 and 458 years after, an abomination was set up which 
continued 1290 years, ending A.D. 1820. Desolation, it is true, still 
continues, but this is no objection to their termination then. We are 
not to suppose that the 1290 years being ended, internal improvement 
was to begin the year after. All it justifies is the expectation that 
when they expired "that that is determined" should begin to be 
"poured out upon the desolator ; " an expectation that has been 
literally verified in the opening of the sixth vial upon the Ottoman 
empire in 1820. 

But is the little horn of the goat that destroyed the mighty and 
holy people, to experience simply a drying up of its power over 

I Luke xxi 22. 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 355 

Palestine and Syria, or what shall be its destiny ? It is to be broken 
to pieces without hand. Its present Ottoman dynasty being changed, 
it is to u destroy wonderfully, and to magnify himself in his heart, 
and to stand up against the Prince of princes," that he may receive 
the blow on the head that shall disable him for a thousand years. 
This will come to pass at " the consummation" when the wrath of the 
sixth vial is exhausted at the end of the 1335 years, which is 45 
years after the 1*290. This allows forty-five years for the whole time 
of the sixth vial, which upon these premises affords 1865 as the date 
of the horn's destruction. 

" The matter " of the vision concerning the taking away of the 
daily was made known to Daniel in the first year of Darius, B.C. 
538. Three years after, that is, in the third of the joint reign of Cyrus 
and Darius, 1 " a thing was revealed" to him, "the appointed time" of 
which " was long." In connexion with this revelation, or prophecy, "a 
vision " was also presented before him. It was a representation of the 
Son of Man in his glory. After he had recovered the overpowering 
effect caused by what he saw, he was informed by one that he came to 
make him understand what should befall Israel in the latter days." In 
carrying out this gracious intention, the revelator added furthermore, 
that he would show him " that which is noted in the scripture of truth ;" 
by which he meant, he would make known to him what yet remained 
to be communicated explanatory of the vision of the Ram and He- 
Goat, which he had seen in the third year of Belshatzar. 

The Lord then proceeded to reveal the things contained in the 
eleventh and twelfth chapters of Daniel, which have respect, first, 
to the pushing of the Ram westward against Greece in the reign of 
the fourth king after Cyrus ; secondly, to the power of Alexander of 
Macedon, and the division of his kingdom into four lesser ones, 
which should be inherited by others not descended from him. These 
matters occupy the first four verses, and constitute a kind of preface 
to what follows; and serve to establish the connection of "the 
prophecy " with u the vision of the evening and morning " contained 
in the eighth chapter. Thirdly, the revelation relates to the Greco- 
Egyptian, and to the Assyro-Macedonian, horns of the goat, styled 
" the king of the south," and " the king of the north." The wars 
and policy of these two powers as far as they compromised the land 
of Israel and the Jews, form the subject of the eleventh chapter from 
the fifth, to the thirty -fifth, verses, inclusive. Fourthly, from the 
thirty-sixth to the fortieth verse the prophecy relates to the Little 
Horn of the goat and the Accursed One whom he should acknowledge 
and increase with glory. Fifthly, it refers to the time of the end, 
or " the latter days," when " the king of the south," and '• the 
king of the north " should re-appear on the stage of action, and the 
power of the little horn, and that of the king of the north, should 
coalesce, and form one power, as when the Roman and Assyro- 
Macedonian were blended together B.C. 67. Sixthly, it reveals the 
invasion of the land of Israel by the little horn's northern king, who 
over-runs Egypt, and finally encamps before the holy mountain. 

< Da». i. 21 ; z. I. » Dan. z. 14. 

Z 2 



356 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

And seventhly, the eleventh chapter closes with the prediction of hig 
final destruction at the hand of Michael, the great prince of Israel, 
their consequent deliverance, the resurrection of many of the dead, 
and the exaltation of the wise in the wisdom of God. * 

Such are the general topics of this remarkable prophecy, which in 
a chapter of forty verses covers a period of 2398 years from the 
third of Cyrus to the probable breaking of the little horn in 1865. 
I propose now to give the reader a more particular, yet necessarily 
brief, interpretation, of this " difficult passage " of the sure prophetic 
word. I shall paraphrase the text. The words in italics will be 
those of the scripture, and the Roman type, the interpretation of the 
text, after the following manner. 

PARAPHRASE OF DANIEL'S ELEVENTH CHAPTER. 

To the thirty-fifth verse inclusive. 

The date of the prophecy is the third year of Cyrus, B.C. 533, 
and runs thus — Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia, 
namely, Ahas-uerus, Smerdis, and Darius ; and the fourth, or 
Xerxes, shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through 
his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia. And 
Alexander, the Macedonian, a mighty king shall stand up, ruling 
with great dominion and doing according to his will. And when he 
shall stand up, having suffered no defeat, his kingdom shall be broken, 
and shall be divided into four kingdoms toward the four winds of 
heaven : and their glory and power shall fall not to his posterity, 
nor according to the extent of his dominion which he ruled: for his 
kingdom shall be plucked up, even for other rulers beside those of bis 
family. And the king of the south shall be strong, and shall be one 
of his, Alexander's princes, or generals; and he shall be strong above 
him, and have dominion ; his dominion shall be a great dominion, 
extending over Egypt, Libya, Cyrenaica, Arabia, Palestine, Ccele- 
Syria, and most of the maritime provinces of Asia Minor; with the 
island of Cyprus, and several others in the iEgean sea, and even some 
cities of Greece, as Cicyon and Corinth. Such was the dominion 
of Ptolemy Soter, the first Macedonian king of Egypt. 

Verse 6. — And in the end of fifty-two years from B.C. 301, they, 
the kings of Egypt and Assyro-Macedonia, shall associate themselves 
together; for Berenice, the king's daughter of the south, shall come, 
or be conducted, to Antiochus Theos, the king of the north, to make 
a marriage agreement: but she shall not retain the power of the arm 
of her father Ptolemy Philadelphia. Neither shall he her husband 
Antiochus stand; for Laodice, his repudiated wife, whom he shall 
receive again when he divorces Berenice after her father's death, 
shall cause him to be poisoned. Nor shall his arm, Berenice, stand; 
hut she shall be given up to suffer death ; and they, the Egyptians 
also; that brought her to Syria; and he, her son, whom she brought 
forth, and he that strengthened her in these times, shall die ; and thus 
leave her to t He mercy of Laodice, which will be treachery and death, 

i Dan. xii. 1—3. 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OP GOD. 357 

Verse 7. — But out of a branch of her parent roots shall Ptolemy 
Euergetes, her brother, stand up in his estate, or kingdom, and come 
with an army, and shall enter into Antioch the capital, and the for- 
tress of the king of the north, and shall deal, or make war, against 
them, even against Laodice and her son Seleucus, and shall prevail : 
and Euergetes shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods, with 
their princes, and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold : 
and he shall continue to reign nine more years than the king of the 
north, who shall die a prisoner in Parthia five years before the king 
of Egypt. So the king of the south shall come into his kingdom, and 
shall return into his own land, B.C. 244. 

Verse 10. — But his, Seleucus Callinicus' sons Seleucus Ceraunus, 
and Antiochus, shall be stirred up to war ; and shall assemble a multi- 
tude of great forces : and one of them, even Antiochus the great, 
shall certainly come and overflow through the passes of Libanus, 
and pass through into Galilee, and possess himself of all that part 
of the country, which was formerly the inheritance of the tribes of 
Reuben and Gad, and of the half tribe of Manasseh. Then, the 
season being too far advanced to prolong the campaign, shall he return 
to Ptolemais, where he shall put his forces into winter quarters. But, 
early in the spring B.C. 217, Ptolemy Philopater shall march with a 
large army to Raphia, by which Antiochus shall be stirred up again 
to war, and defeated with great slaughter, so that he shall retreat to 
his fortress. Thus, shall the king of the south be moved with choler, 
and come forth and fight with the king of the north ; and the king 
of the north shall set forth a great multitude, even 72,000 foot and 
6,000 horse ; but the multitude shall be given into the hand of the 
king of Egypt. 

And when he t the king of the south, had taken away the multitude 
by a signal defeat of Antiochus, his heart shall be lifted up, for he 
will desire to enter the most holy place of the temple. But while he 
was preparing to enter, he was stricken, and carried off for dead. 
In his victory over Antiochus he shall cast down ten thousands, even 
10,000 foot and 300 horse. But, not following up his advantages, 
Philopator shall not be strengthened by his victory. For Antiochus, 
the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a midtitude 
of troops, greater than the former, and shall certainly come after 
certain, that is, nineteen years after the battle of Raphia, or B.C. 
198, with a great army and with much riches, and shall subjugate all 
Palestine and Ccele-Syria. 

Verse 14. — And in those times, when Ptolemy Epiphanes shall 
reign over Egypt, many shall stand up against the infant king 
of tke south, even the kings of Macedonia, and of Syria, and Scopas, 
the general of his deceased father. But the deputies of the Romans, 
ike breakers of thy people, Daniel, shall interfere to establish the 
vision. They became the guardians and protectors of Epiphanes 
during his minority ; and appointed three deputies, who were ordered 
to acquaint the kings with their resolution, and to enjoin them not to 
infest the dominions of their royal pupil ; for that otherwise they 
should be forced to declare war against them. The deputy, Emilius, 



358 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

one of the three, after delivering the message of the Roman senate^ 
proceeded to Alexandria, and settled everything to as much advan- 
tage as the state of affairs in Egypt would then admit. In this way 
the Romans began to mix themselves up with the affairs of Egypt, 
Palestine, and Syria; and in a few years established themselves as 
lords paramount of the East, and so constituted a power in Asia, 
symbolized by the Little Horn of the Goat, and in the thirty-sixth 
verse, styled " the king." But, though they should be " the 
breakers of Israel," the assurance was given to Daniel, saying, they 
shall/all. 

So the king of the north, being checked by the Romans, shall come 
into Palestine, and cast up a mount against Sidon, where he shall 
besiege the forces of the Egyptians; and he shall take Jerusalem, tlie 
city of munitions, from the castle of which he shall expel the Egyp- 
tian garrison : and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither 
his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand 
Antiochus. But Antiochus, who cometh against Ptolemy Epiphanes, 
shall do according to his own will in Coele-Syria and Palestine, and 
none shall stand before him : and he shall make a permanent stand in 
the glorious land of Israel, which by his hand shall be consumed. 
Be shall also set his face to enter into Greece, with the strength of 
his whole kingdom, and Israelites (Ishrim) with him. Thus shall he 
do to incorporate Greece into his dominion, by which the Romans, 
who had recently proclaimed it free, would be stirred up against him. 
Therefore, to secure the neutrality of their Egyptian ally, he shall 
give Cleopatra, the daughter of women, or princess royal, to 
Epiphanes to wife, corrupting her to betray him by resigning to him 
Ccele-Syria and Palestine as her dower, but on condition that he 
should receive half the revenues. Thus, the land of Israel was given 
over as a bribe to bind Cleopatra to her father's interests, that she 
might influence Epiphanes either to remain neutral, or to declare 
against the Romans, his protectors. But she shall cleave to her hus- 
band and not stand, neither be for him, but shall join with her husband 
in congratulating the Roman Senate on the victory they had gained 
over her father at Thermopylse. 

After this shall Antiochus, at the earnest solicitation of the iEtolians, 
turn his face unto the isles of Greece, and shall take many : but a 
military commander (kotzin), L. Scipio, the Roman consul, shall 
cause the reproach offered by him to cease ; without his own disgrace 
he, Scipio, shall cause it to turn upon Antiochus, by defeating him at 
Mount Sipylus, and repulsing him from every part of Asia Minor. 
As the condition of peace, the Romans required him to pay 15,000 
talents; 500 down, 2500 on the ratification of the treaty, and the 
rest in twelve years at 1000 talents per annum. These terms being 
acceded to, he shall turn his face toward the fortress, or capital, 
of his own land, being much at a loss how to raise the tribute. 
While in the province of Elymais, he heard of a considerable treasure 
in the temple of Jupiter Belus. He accordingly broke into it in the 
dead of night, and carried off all its riches, But he shall stumble 
and fall, and not be found; for the provincials, exasperated 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 359 

at the robbery, rebelled against him, and murdered him and all his 
attendants, B.C. 187. 

Verse 20. — Then shall stand up in Antiochus' estate, or kingdom, 
his son Seleucus Philopator, one who causeth an exactor to pass over' 
the glory of the kingdom ; the business of his reign being to raise 
the tribute for the Romans. But within fow days, that is, twelve 
years, he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle, being 
poisoned by Heliodorus, his prime minister, having reigned long 
enough to pay the last instalment to the Romans. 

Verse 21. — And in his, Seleucus Philopator's, place shall stand up 
Heliodorus a vile person, being both a poisoner and usurper, to whom 
they, the authorities of the nation, shall not give the honor of the 
kingdom : but Antiochus Epiphanes shall come in peaceably, and 
obtain the kingdom by flatteries bestowed on the party of 
Heliodorus. 

Verse 22. — And with the arms of a flood by which they shall be 
formidably invaded, shall they, the Egyptians, be overflown from 
before Antiochus, whom they excite to war by demanding the restitu- 
tion of Ccele-Syria and Palestine. And they shall be broken, or 
subdued ; yea, also Onias the prince, or high priest, of the Mosaic 
covenant, shall be murdered, as B.C. 172, it came to pass. And 
after tlie league made with Ptolemy Philometer, Antiochus shall work 
deceit fully after his second invasion of Egypt, B.C. 170 ; for he shall 
come U)> to Alexandria, and he shall become strong with a small people, 
or army. By his deceit, he shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest 
plates of the province to which he reduces Egypt ; and he, Antio- 
chus, shall do that which his fathers, or predecessors, have not done, 
nor his fathers' fathers ; namely, he shall scatter among his followers, 
the prey, and spoils, and riches: yea, he shall forecast his devices 
against the strong holds of Egypt, even for a time. And he shall 
stir up his power and hU courage against the king of the south with a 
great army ; and the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle 
with a very great and mighty army ; but he shall not stand : for the 
Alexandrians seeing him in the hands of Antiochus, and lost to them, 
shall forecast devices against him, and place the crown of Egypt 
upon the head of his brother, Euergetes II. Yea, they that feed of 
the portion of Philometer' s meat, even his coUrtiers, shall separate, 
or renounce, him; and his, Antiochus' army shall overflow Egypt; 
and many of the Egyptians shall fall down slain. And the hearts 
of both these kings shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at 
one table, but shall not prosper ; for the end is yet at the time 
appointed. 

Then shall Antiochus return into his land with great riches ; and 
his heart shall be against the Holy Covenant: and he shall do 
terrible things against Jerusalem, taking it by storm, butchering 
80,000 men, making 40,000 prisoners, and causing a like number to 
be sold for slaves. And then shall he return to his own land, laden 
with the spoils of the temple, amounting to 1800 talents, or 
£270,000. 

At the time appointed, under pretence of restoring Philometer to 



360 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

the throne, he shall return, and come toward the south against 
Alexandria to besiege it. But it, this fourth invasion, shall not be as 
the former, or as the latter. He raised the siege and marched 
towards Memphis, where he installed Philometer as king. As soon, 
however, as he had departed, Philometer came to an understanding 
with Euergetes, and they agreed to a joint reign over Egypt. This 
coming to the ears of Antiochus, he led a powerful army against 
Memphis for the purpose of subduing the country. Having nearly 
accomplished his project, he marched against Alexandria, which was 
the only obstacle to his becoming absolute master of Egypt. But 
the Roman embassy, sent at the request of the Ptolemies, met him 
about a mile from the city. They had left Rome with the utmost 
diligence. When they arrived at Delos, they found a fleet of Mace- 
donian, or Greek, ships, on board of which they embarked for 
Alexandria, where they arrived at the crisis of his approach. 
Popilius delivered him the decree of the Senate, and demanded an 
immediate answer. Sorely against his will, he agreed to obey its 
mandate, and draw off his army from Egypt. Thus his invasion 
terminated very differently from the former : for the ships of Chittim 
shall come against him, and prevent him from incorporating Egypt 
into his Assyrian kingdom of the north. 1 

All his wrath was kindled at this interference ; therefore he shall 
be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the Holy Cove- 
nant ; for in his return-march through Palestine, he detached 20,000 
men under Apollonius with orders to destroy Jerusalem, B.C. 168. 
So shall he do ; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them 
that forsake the Holy Covenant. 

Verse 31. — And arms shall stand on his part under Apollonius ; 
and they, the Assyro-Macedonian troops, shall pollute the temple, or 
sanctuary of strength, by shedding the blood of the worshippers in 
its courts ; and they shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall 
place a strong fort and garrison to command the temple, even the 
abomination that maketh desolate, and overawes the nation. 

As soon as Antiochus Epiphanes was returned to Antioch, he 
published a decree by which all his subjects were required to conform 
to his religion. This was aimed chiefly at the Jews, whose religion 
and nation he was resolved to extirpate. Atheneus, a man advanced 
in years, and extremely well versed in all the ceremonies of the 
Grecian idolatry, was commissioned to carry the edict into effect in 
Judea and Samaria. As soon as he arrived at Jerusalem, he began 
by suppressing the daily, or burnt offering of continuance, and all 
the observances of the Jewish law. He caused the sabbaths and 
other festivals to be profaned ; forbid the circumcision of children ; 
carried off and burned all copies of the law wherever they could be 
found ; and put to death whoever acted contrary to the decree of the 
king. To establish it the sooner in every part of the nation, altars 
and chapels filled with idols were erected in every city, and sacred 
groves were planted. Officers were appointed over these, who caused 
the people generally to offer sacrifice in them every month, on the 

• Numb. xxiv. 24. 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 361 

day of the month on which the king was born, who made them eat 
swine's flesh and other unclean animals sacrificed there. The temple 
in Jerusalem was dedicated to Jupiter Olympius whose statue was 
placed within it. Thus he did in his great indignation against 
Jehovah and his people Israel. 

Verse 32. — And such of the Jews as do wickedly against the 
covenant shall Antiochus by flatteries cause to dissemble. These not 
only " forsook the holy covenant," but " had intelligence " with the 
king, and aided him all they could in the desolation with which he 
was overspreading their country. But the Maccabees and their 
adherents, people who do know their God shall be strong, and do 
valiantly in war. And they, even Mattathias and his five sons, &c, 
that understand among the people shall instruct, and encourage, 
many ; yet they of their party shall fall by the sword, and by flame, 
by captivity, and by spoil, days. 

Now when they shall fall by these calamities they shall be holpen 
with a little help; for whilst Antiochus was amusing himself by 
celebrating games at Daphne, Judas Maccabeus had raised the 
standard of independence, and was helping his countrymen in Judea. 
He levied a small army, fortified the cities, rebuilt the fortresses, 
threw strong garrisons into them, and thereby awed the whole 
country. He defeated and killed Apollonius, and made great slaugh- 
ter of the troops. With 3000 men he defeated Lysias with 47,000 ; 
and another army of 20,000 under Timotheus and Bacchides ; and in 
the year B.C. 170, he gave Lysias a second defeat at Bethsura, by 
which he dispersed 65,000 of the enemy. Yet, many shall cleave to 
them, the Maccabees, with flatteries, for it was a time of trial. And 
therefore some of them of understanding shall fall to try them, and to 
purge, and make them white for the time of the end ; because 
it, the time of the end, is yet for a time appointed. 

The thirty-fifth verse of this eleventh chapter brings us down to 
the end of 430 years from the destruction of the city and temple of 
Jerusalem by the Chaldeans. There is here a break in the prophecy. 
Nothing more is said about Israel and the king of the north, until 
the prediction is resumed in the fortieth verse, which may be regarded 
as continuous with verse thirty-five. The latter speaks of their being 
tried and made white to, or till, the time of the end, and then the 
fortieth re-introduces the king of the south and the king of the north, 
and outlines the events they were to bring to pass in that time, and 
which will end in the resurrection, when they who have been tried 
and made white in the long interval, will stand in their lot with 
Daniel at the end of the 1335 days. With the exception of the 
" little help " derived from the victories of the Maccabees, the history 
of Israel has been a series of calamities to this day ; and will so 
continue to be till the " time appointed " for their deliverance 
arrives. 

But the Maccabean epoch is particularly interesting as the termi- 
nation of Ezekiel's 430 years. The house of Israel, and the house 
of Judah, had been great transgressors of the holy covenant from the 
foundation of the temple in the fourth year of Solomon to the sack 



£ 



362 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

of the city in the 18th of Nebuchadnezzar. This was a period of 430 
years, which was divided into two periods, namely, one of forty years 
from the foundation of the temple to the apostasy of Rehoboam and 
Judah ; the other, of three hundred and ninety from this apostasy to the 
destruction of the temple. God determined that this long national trans- 
gression should be punished by as long a retribution. He therefore 
gave Israel " a sirpi " of what was coming upon them. 1 This 
consisted in Ezekiel lying on his left side 390 days, and then upon 
his right for 40 days more. By this sign was represented the pros- 
trate condition of Israel for 430 years. The -130 years of transgres- 
sion had not quite ended when the sign was appointed in the fifth 
of Jehoiachin's captivity. The thing signified began to take effect 
in the sacking of Jerusalem. Israel then began to " eat their defiled 
bread among the Gentiles ;" so that the 430 years would end B.C. 
160, according to my chronology at the end of this book. These four 
centuries of punishment were a very calamitous period of Jewish his- 
tory. They endured a captivity in Babylon for 70 years ; for several 
ears more their times were " troublous ;" they were vassals to the 
ersians till their dominion was overthrown by Alexander; afterwards, 
as we have seen, they were alternately subject to the king of the south 
and the king of the north, and their land became a field of battle for the 
hosts of these powers, who defiled the temple, and at length converted 
it into a house for the worship of Jupiter. But, a very few years 
before the 4:>() years were about to expire, Judas Maccabeus com- 
menced a war against Antiochus Epiphanes, which ended in the 
recovery of Jerusalem, the purification of the temple from the heathen 
worship, its re-dedication to God, and the erection of Judea into an 
independent kingdom under the Asmoneans, which continued 
until it. was placed under Herod the Idumean by the Romans, about 37 
years before Christ. 



THE KING AND THE " STRANGE GOD." 

Tile 430 years of national retribution being ended, and with it the 

Srophecy concerning Israel and the king of the northern horn of the 
[acedOniah Goat, a new power is introdueed as superseding that of 
the northern king. This power appeared on the territory of the 
north, and absorbed its dominion into itself, so that it became all in 
all. In "the vision of the evening and the morning" it is repre- 
sented by a Little Horn Standing upon another horn, and is styled 
"a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences." 
Moses describes the same power in these words, saying to Israel, 
"The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end 
of the earth swift as the eagle Hieth; a nation whose tongue thou 
shalt not understand; a nation of fierce countenance, and he shall 
besiege thee in all thy gates." 2 " His power shall be mighty," said 
Gabriel, "but not by his own power : and he shall destroy wonder- 
fully, and shall prosper and practise, and shall destroy the mighty 

Eaek iv. 1—8. * Deut. xxvili. 49, 50, 52. 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 363 

and the holy people. And through his policy, also, he shall cause 
craft to prosper in his hand," or by his power : " and he shall 
magnify himself in his heart, and in prospering shall destroy many ; 
he shall also stand up against the Pririee of princes : but he shall be 
broken without hand." * This is a general description of the power 
which should rule over the Assyro-Macedonian territory as well as 
over the Greco-Egyptian, when "their kingdom " should come to an 
end for a time, that is, until their revival " in the time of the end." 
I am particularly desirous that this part of the prophecy should be 
understood. Perhaps, what I mean may be better comprehended by 
the following homely illustration. Suppose we were to take a goat's 
horn, and with a circular saw were to cut out a piece of its surface. 
Then fix the round piece upon a spring, the lower end of which should 
be &xcd inside the horn. Now if pressure be applied on the circular 
piece it would be brought down to a level with the general surface 
of the horn. In this state, the horn would represent the Assyro- 
Macedonian kingdom under the Seleucidse ; but remove the pressure 
and the circular piece of horn would start up to the height of the 
spring's length. Let this represent the Little Horn upon the Goat's 
horn, and we have the symbol of the power which prevails from the 
conquest of Assyro-Macedonia, B.C. 65, until the time of the end', 
a period of 1918 years to the date of this book. But if pressure be 
aftei'wards applied to the circular piece, it is brought down to a level 
with the surface of the horn, and it again appears like one horn, for 
by the pressure the Little Horn is merged into it. This last action 
and its result will represent the immergence of the Little Horn power 
of Constantinople into the Assyro-Macedonian, or Russian, Horn 
of the Goat in the time of the end ; so that the Constantinopolitan, 
and Russo- Assyrian, powers, become one horn, as before the Little 
Horn arose. So that in the time of the end the Horn of the North 
plays a similar part against Israel that it did of old by the hand of 
Antiochus Epiphanes in the days of Judas Maccabeus ; therefore, he 
may be fairly taken as the type of Israel's last and greatest enemy, 
who shall come to his end, with none to help him. 

This Little Horn power, or " king of fierce countenance," is, in 
the thirty-sixth verse of the eleventh chapter, styled, " the king who 
doth according to his will." This federal potentate must be studied 
in his secular and ecclesiastical characters. His secular, with a hint 
or so of his spiritual, character, is given in the eighth chapter ; while 
his ecclesiastical is exhibited more fully in the eleventh, from the 
thirty-sixth, to the thirty-ninth, verses inclusive. His policy was to 
be of a remarkable description; for "through his policy he shall 
cause craft to prosper by his power." Hence, his doings with regard 
to another, and that person's words and deeds, are all affirmed of this 
wilful king; for, it is by his' power, as well as through his policy, 
that this person is enabled to do. Thus, putting them both together, 
for they are one in policy and action, the power is thus outlined by 
the prophet, who says, " And the King shall do according to his 
will ; and he shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every 

' Dan. viii. 23—25. 



364 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

god," or ruler, " and shall speak marvellous things against the God 
of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished : for 
that that is determined shall be done. He shall disregard all the gods 

of his fathers (tTri 7rai/Tas 0£<jus TO)U TTdTEptov avrov ov <rvvr\ar&L Sept,) and 

the desire of wives, nor shall he regard any god : for he shall magnify 
himself above all." This is evidently not descriptive of the pagan 
Roman power, but of that power invested with a new ecclesiastical 
character. In other words, it is descriptive of the imperial Constan- 
tinopolitan catholic power. Of all who swayed this sceptre from 
Constantine, the founder of the city, to Palseologus, who lost it to 
the Turks, the emperor Justinian is the best illustration of the wilful 
king in his secular aspect. " Never prince," says Dupin, " did 
meddle so much with what concerns the affairs of the church, nor 
make so many constitutions and laws upon this subject. He was 
persuaded that it was the duty of an emperor, and for the good of 
the State, to have a particular care of the church, to defend its faith, 
to regulate external discipline, and to employ the civil laws and the 
temporal power to preserve it in order and peace." 

" Justinian," says Gibbon, " sympathized with his subjects in 
their superstitious reverence for living and departed saints ; his code, 
more especially his novels, confirm and enlarge the privileges of the 
clergy ; and in every dispute between the monk and the layman, the 
partial judge was inclined to pronounce, that truth and innocence are 
always on the side of the church. In his public and private devo- 
tions, he was assiduous and exemplary ; his prayers, vigils, and fasts, 
displayed the austere penance of a monk ; his fancy was amused by 
the hope, or belief, of personal inspiration ; he had secured the 
patronage of the virgin, and St. Michael, the archangel ; and his 
recovery from a dangerous disease was ascribed to the miraculous 
succour of the holy martyrs, Cosmas and Damian. Among the 
titles of imperial greatness, the name of Pious, was most pleasing to 
his ear ; to promote the temporal and spiritual interest of the (Greco- 
Roman) church was the serious business of. his life ; and the duty of 
father of his country was often sacrificed to that of defender of the 
faith. While the Barbarians invaded the provinces, while the victo- 
rious legions marched under the banners of Belisarius and Narses, 
the successor of Trajan, unknown to the camp, was content to van- 
quish at the head of a synod." 

" The reign of Justinian was an uniform yet various scene of 
persecution ; and he appears to have surpassed his indolent pre- 
decessors, both in the contrivance of his laws, and rigour of their 
execution. The insufficient term of three months was assigned for 
the conversion or exile of all heretics ; and if he still connived at their 
precarious stay, they were deprived under his iron yoke, not only of 
the benefits of society, but of the common birthright of men and 
christians." 

Antiochus Epiphanes and Justinian represent " the king " as he 
will be manifested, when, as the king of the north, he appears upon 
the arena, standing up to contend with the Prince of princes, on the 
field of Armageddon; for he is to "prosper till the indignation be 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 365 

accomplished " against Israel. Impious and cruel as Antiochus, and 
superstitious and fanatical as Justinian, with the arrogance, ambition, 
and profanity of the Roman Bishop in his halcyon days, this incar- 
nation of the sin-power in the crisis of its fate, will fully answer to all 
that has been predicated of this king who does according to his will, 
and " for whom Tophet is ordained of old." 1 At present he is 
represented by the Sultan, who " divides the land for gain.' 1 But 
when the Little Horn's sceptre is wrested from his feeble grasp by the 
Autocrat, we shall see in him a potentate, unrivalled in presumption 
and impiety by any of his fathers, not excepting Pharoah of the 
olden time. 

In times past, the little horn of the goat has admirably illustrated 
the prophecy concerning him. " Through his policy he shall cause 
craft to prosper by his power." In studying the reign of Justinian 
this is remarkably apparent. But before the Horn could find scope 
for the promotion of the species of craft referred to, it was necessary, 
that he should " disregard all the gods of his fathers," that is, 
embrace some other religion than paganism ; in other words, become 
a Greco-Roman catholic, such as Justinian, who occupied the throne, 
but did not inherit the peculiar superstition of the Caesars. Having 
discarded the gods of his fathers, it suited the Horn's policy to bestow 
his patronage upon another, who should be a god upon the earth, and 
residing in Rome, instead of above the heights of Olympus. The 
testimony in Daniel is, that "In his estate he shall honor the god of 
forces ;" or more intelligibly, " In his kingdom shall he do honor to 
a god of guardians.'" The word rendered " guardians " is mahuzzim 
and signifies munitions. Hence, any real, or supposed, persons adopted 
as protectors, guardians, or patrons, are mahuzzim, or munitions of 
strength and safety. Now the god whom the Little Horn of the Goat 
honored in his kingdom, was a god of guardian saints, who are 
regarded by his worshippers as protectors and towers of strength and 
security against all " the ills that flesh is heir to." Such a god is the 
Bishop of Rome ; who, to the pagan officials of the Little Horn, 
was unknown, being in their reign only a simple bishop, undistinguished 
from the rest of his class, save that he flourished in the capital, and 
they in the provinces, of the empire. He is therefore styled in the 
scripture, " a god whom his (the Little Horn's) fathers knew not ; " 
hence he is also termed " a strange god." But though "strange" 
and unknown to Trajan and the Antonines, he was afterwards brought 
into notice by Constantine and his successors. In 313, he was made 
chief magistrate of Rome, or, as we would say, Lord Mayor, for 
life. His jurisdiction was confined to the city. In 378, however, 
the Little Horn of the Goat then reigning over the east and west, 
extended his spiritual authority over all the churches of Italy and 
Gaul ; and by the time of Justinian, he was prepared for presentation 
to the nations as spiritual head of the whole Roman habitable. He 
was the god of a new system of idolatry, whose idols were the images 
of Mahuzzim, or '■' the ghosts " of pretended saints and martyrs, the 
demi-gods, or demons, of the new Roman mythology. 

' Isaiah xxx. 27—33; xxxi. 8, % 



THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

In a celebrated letter written by the emperor Justinian to this god 
of patron saints, dated March 533, and which thenceforth became 
part and parcel of the civil law, he is recognized as the legal head 
of all the churches of the eastern and western provinces of the empire, 
" We suffer not," says the imperial writer, " any thing that belongs 
to the state of the churches to be done without submitting it to your 
holiness who art head of alt the churches" In this way " the king 
who did according to his will" '• achnowledged" 1 this "strange 
god" as of supreme spiritual authority "in the most strong holds." 
The work of recognition thus far advanced by Justinian was perfected 
by the edict of the emperor Phocas who began to reign in 603. TTe 
also wrote to the Roman Bishop in 604, and achnowledged his spiritual 
supremacy. He was very liberal to the churches, and allowed the 
Pantheon, a temple dedicated to all the gods by his fathers, to be 
turned into a church, or " most strong hold," to all the sa:ints. 
Phocas was a monster in crime, and therefore the better qualified for 
a patron of the Roman Bishop, who hailed him as the pious avenger 
of the church. By this kind of flattery a decree was obtained from 

i him by Boniface III., in 606, declaring the Roman god universal 
Bishop. Two years after, a pillar with a gilt statue on the top of it, 
was erected in Rome to the honor of Phocas with the following 
inscription — Pro innumerabilibus Pietatis ejus benefices, et pro 
quiete procurata, ac conservatd iibertate. Tims was memorialized the 
fulfilment of the sure word of prophecy, that the Little Horn of the 
Goat should "in his kingdom do honor to a god of guardian saints." 
When the Bishop of Rome was honored as a god by the Little 
Horn of the Goat, the other Little Horn had not yet made its ap- 
pearance among the ten horn-kingdoms of the Beast. There elapsed 
266 years from the date of Justinian's letter, and 193, from the 
decree of Phocas, before this came to pass ; for Charlemagne was 
not crowned emperor of the western third part of the Roman empire 
till A.D. 799. Upon this occasion, he also "acknowledged and 

» increased with glory " the Universal Bishop as a god " above every 
god" of his dominions. Through his policy he also caused craft to 
prosper by his power. Priestcraft gained an ascendancy in Europe 
which it had never attained before the rise of the Germano-Roman 
Little Horn among the kingdoms of the west. By forming an 
alliance with " the Accursed One," all the powers were cemented 
together by a bond far stronger than the sword. The emperors 
perceived this, and shaped their policy accordingly. The influence 
of the popes in strengthening the imperial authority is well shown in 
the following quotation : 

" There was no general connexion existing between the states of 
Europe till the Romans, in endeavouring to make themselves masters 
of the world, had the greatest part of the European states under their 
dominion. From that time there necessarily existed a sort of connexion 
between them, and this connexion was strengthened by the famous 
decree of Caracalla, by the adoption of the Roman laws, and by the 
influence of the catholic religion which introduced itself insensibly 

Dan zi. 39. 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 367 

into almost all the subdued states. After the destruction of the 
empire of the west in 493, the Hierarchial system naturally led the 
several papal states to consider themselves in ecclesiastical matters as 
unequal members of one great society. Besides the immoderate 
ascendant the Bishop of Rome had the address to obtain as the 
spiritual chief of the church, and his consequent success in elevating 
the Gerrnano-Roman emperor to the character of temporal chief, 
brought such an accession of authority to the latter, that most of the 
nations of Europe showed for some ages so great a deference to the 
emperor, that in many respects Europe seemed to form but one society, 
consisting of unequal members subject to one sovereign.'' 

Thus, then, the " Wicked One " was manifested by the working of 
Satan with all the power of the Little Horn of the Goat, and after- 
wards, of the Little Horn of the west. Strange and unknown to the 
pagan emperors, he became a god to the wilful king, and Eyes and 
Mouth to the Little Horn of the west ; so that until the capture 
of Constantinople in 1453, he was in some sort a connecting link 
between the two imperial horns. The prophecy before us, however, 
not only foretells his recognition by the Roman power, but sets forth 
other particulars of a striking and interesting character. The text 
when literally rendered throws much light upon the subject. Thus, it 
reads, " In his kingdom shall he do honor to a god of guardians, 
even an Accursed One whom his fathers knew not shall he honor 
with gold, and with silver, and with precious stones, and with things 
desired. Thus shall he do in Bazaars of Guardians with an 
Accursed Dissembler, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with 
glory : and he shall cause them to exercise authority over multitudes, 
and he (the Little Horn) shall divide the land for gain." There are 
peculiarities in this translation which I shall notice presently ; of the 
whole text, it may be remarked here, that it is in strict accordance 
with history, and therefore worthy to be received. It testifies, that 
the Little Horn of the Goat should do honor to a god of guardians 
with riches, and things desired. Now, to honor a god of guardians 
with such things, is to enrich the institutions dedicated to the guardian 
*aints, whose high priest Rome's episcopal god is. In meeting the 
suggestions of the Accursed One, the Little Horn was honoring him 
with " things desired." Justinian was a remarkable instance of 
liberality to the church and its chief. Besides the magnificent temple 
of St. Sophia, he dedicated twenty-five others in that city and its 
suburbs to the honor of the Virgin and the saints : most of these 
edifices were decorated with marble and gold. His munificence was 
diffused over the holy land ; throughout which monasteries for 
both sexes were amply diffused. Almost every saint in the calendar 
acquired the honor of a temple ; and the liberality with which he 
honored them was boundless. He employed 10,001) workmen in the 
erection of St. Sophia, which he finished in five years, eleven months, 
and ten days from the first foundation. No wood except the doors 
were admitted into its construction. Paul Silentiarius, who beheld 
its primitive lustre, enumerates the colors, the shades, and the spots 
of ten or twelve marbles, jaspers, and porphyries, which nature had 



308 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

profusely diversified, and which were blended and contrasted as it 
were by a skilful painter. " The triumph of Antichrist was adorned 
with the last spoils of paganism, but the greater part of these costly 
stones was extracted from the quarries of Asia Minor, the isles and 
continent of Greece, Egypt, Africa, and Gaul. A variety of orna- 
ments and figures was curiously expressed in Mosaic ; and the images 
of Christ, of the Virgin, of the saints, and of angels, were exposed 
to the superstition of the Greeks. According to the sanctity of each 
object, the precious metals were distributed in their leaves, or in solid 
masses. The spectator was dazzled by the glittering aspect of the 
cupola; the sanctuary contained forty thousand pounds weight of 
silver ; and the holy vases and vestments of the altar were of the 
purest gold, enriched with inestimable gems." Such are the words 
of Gibbon ; and no description of things could more palpably 
demonstrate the applicability of the text to any other person, than 
this does to Justinian as the individual emperor of the little Greek 
Horn, who " in his kingdom honored an Accursed god of guardian 
saints in their bazaars with gold, with silver, and with precious stones, 
and with things desired." " Thus shall he do," saith the scripture, 
" in the most strong holds with a strange god," or accursed dissem- 
bler. In the margin of the passage instead of " in the most strong 
holds," it reads " in fortresses of munitions/' which does not help 
the matter at all. The Hebrew words are le-mivtzerai mahuzzim. 
The root of le-mivtzerai is batzar, and signifies " to enclose with a 
wall, or the like, for safety. As a noun, it signifies store, or treasure 
so secured. Derivative — a bazaar, a kind of covered market-place 
among the eastern nations, somewhat like our Exeter 'Change, but 
frequently much more extensive." l In the strong holds of Mahuzzim, 
or in Mahuzzim-Bazaars, comes nearer to the original. Understand- 
ing that Mahuzzim are deified ghosts, worshipped as patrons and 
protectors, the question need only be asked, what are their strong 
holds, or bazaars ? and every reflecting mind will answer immediately 
— "Why, the churches to be sure!" This is the truth. The 
churches, chapels, and cathedrals are the strong holds, and houses of 
merchandize, dedicated by the prospering craft to guardian-saints and 
angels. There are the images and pictures of the saints. They are 
saints' houses in which are deposited their shrines ; silver, gold, and 
ivory crucifixes ; old bones, and various kinds of trumpery. They 
are literally " dens of thieves," where people are robbed of their 
money under divers false pretences. They are places where pews are 
sold by auction ; where fairs are held for " pious objects ;" and where 
spiritual quacks pretend to cure souls in exchange for so much per 
annum. In view of these facts, the scriptural epithet bestowed upon 
the church-houses of the apostasy is most appropriate. They are 
truly Bazaars of spiritual merchandize ; and the prospering craft, 
" the great men of the earth," made rich by trading in their wares, 
are the bazaar-men, who extort all kinds of goods from their cus- 
tomers by putting them in fear, and comforting them with heavenly 
pay. They buy and sell under license from the State, having received 

' P-ukhursf s Lexicon. 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 369 

the mark on their foreheads and in their hands. The reader may find 
the catalogue of sale in the eighteenth of Revelation. Among the 
articles of merchandize are (<rw[iaTu>v, *<u ^«/x as avdptoirwv) bodies, and 
60uls of men. But the trade of these soul-merchants is fast falling 
into disrepute. Their customers growl exceedingly at being com- 
pelled to deal at Bazaars, where the profit is all on one side. This 
state of things, however, will not last much longer ; for the time 
cometh it is written, when " no man buyeth their merchandize any 
more." There is often more truth than fiction, though not much 
elegance, in the proverbs of the vulgar ; but the reader will now per- 
ceive the scripture origin of the term " gospel shop/' as applied to 
places of religious convocation, where men preach gospels at so much 
per sermon, or per annum. I am aware, Paul says, that " the Lord 
hath ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the 
gospel." This is just and proper. But this ordinance does not apply 
to those who do not preach the gospel, but preach mere human tradi- 
tion instead. These are preachers of other gospels ; and to pay them 
is " to take the bread out of the childrens' mouths, and cast it to 
dogs," even to " dumb dogs that cannot bark." The places where 
they deal out their traditions are well and truly designated shops, or 
bazaars ; for the system which sanctifies them is mere trading in 
religion, and haggling for a crust of bread. But, then, bazaars of 
priestly wares are distinguished from places of honorable trade, by 
being dedicated to Mahuzzim. This is a remarkable feature in the 
prophecy, which finds its counterpart in the dedication of the 
churches to guardian saints and angels. St. Sophia at Constantinople, 
St. Peter's at Rome, Our Lady's at Paris, St. Paul's at London, and 
innumerable other bazaars, dedicated to all conceivable kinds of 
saints, and, lest any should be forgotten, to All Saints, and even to 
All Souls — are examples in point. In these bazaars of guai'dians, 
then, the two Little Horns, and the other Horns, " through their 
policy have caused craft to prosper by their power ; and have done 
honor to the god of guardians with gold, and silver, and precious 
stones, and things desired." 



A A 



370 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WOULD 



CHAPTER V. 

It is impossible that the Holy Land can be for ever subject to the Gentiles— It is to be 
wrested from them at the expiry of " the time of the end"— Of Daniel's 2.300 
•lays — Diagram of Daniel's times — Of the beginning of " the time of the end " — 
Of the king of the south at that time —The Autocrat of Russia the king of the 
north at " the time of the end " — England and the Jews — Of Gogue and Magogue 
— Ezekiel's and John's two different and remote confederacies — Daniel's king of 
the north of " the time of the end," and Gogue of " the latter days," the same— 
The Gogue of Ezekiel proved to be Emperor of Germany and Autocrat of all the 
Russias — Gomer and the French — Sheba, Dedan, the Merchants of Tarshish and 
its young lions, identified as the British power. 



Our paraphrase was discontinued at the end of the thirty-fifth vei*se 
of the eleventh chapter of Daniel. It left Antiochus Epiphanes, the 
king of the north, at war with the Jews under Judas Maccabeus, 
who were fighting against fearful odds for their very existence as a 
nation. The prophecy about the Little Horn king led our attention 
off from events in the land of Israel to others in Italy and Constan- 
tinople where we beheld the Little Greek Horn, and after him, the 
Little Latin Horn, doing honor to the Roman Bishop, and converting 
him into a god in their respective dominions. But, though the 
testimony directed our attention to Rome, in order that we might be 
able by the transactions of which that city was the centre, to identify 
the power represented by " the king who did according to his will/* 
before it dismisses the Little Horn by pressing it down into the 
Assyrian Horn of the Goat, our thoughts are again turned upon 
Israel and their interesting country, by the prophet telling us that the 
Little Greek Horn " $h,all divide the land for gain." This treatment 
of the holy land is particularly characteristic of the Ottoman power 
which has possessed the country since 1509, when it was incorporated 
with the Turkish empire by Selim IX. It has been divided by his 
successors to their pashas literally " for gain ; " by which the ruin of 
the country was made sure and expeditious. Having purchased 
principalities in it at enormous prices, they make a conscience of 
reimbursing themselves in the shortest possible time by every kind of 
extortion ; well-knowing, in past times at least, that if a higher price 
were offered than they had given, their heads would soon appear at 
Constantinople, in attestation of their dangerous posts being occupied 
by equally unscrupulous exactors. 

But, is the holy land to continue for ever as it is at this day ? Is 
the Little Horn of the Goat always to divide it for a price among his 
pashas ? These are questions of great interest to all who believe the 
gospel of the kingdom of God and his Christ. If the reader have 
accompanied me through this volume, he will, I doubt not, be ready 
to answer in full assurance of faith and hope, with an emphatio " No, 
it is impossible." Yea, verily, it is impossible that it can always be 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOB. 371 

cbsolate and subject to the horns of the Gentiles. If it were, the 
kingdom of God could never be established; for the Holy Land is 
the territory of the kingdom. To all, then, who believe " the things 
of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ," how intensely 
interesting must the future destiny of this country be ! Well may it 
be said by the prophet, " Ye that make mention of the Lord, keep 
not silence, and give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make 
Jerusalem a praise in the earth." x 

But when and how shall the land of Israel be wrested from the 
Little Horn of the Goat ? As to the when, the prophecy contained 
in the last six verses of the eleventh chapter plainly informs tts, that 
it shall be in the Time of the End; " for at the time of the end shall 
be the vision." 2 This period is also termed, " the last end of the 
indignation ; for at the time appointed the end shall be." - In other 
words, the winding up of the vision shall be at the expiration of a, 
given time. The next question is, what given time is this, and when 
does it expire ? In reply to this, I remark, that the only time given 
in connexion with the vision of the Ram and He-Goat, and the 
prophecy connected with it, is a long interval of 2300 years from the 
evening to the morning of the vision-period. The Septuagint reads 
2400; but the Hebrew is certainly better authority than the Greek 
translation of it, and that says 2300, as in the common version. 
Assuming, then, that this is correct, the question is still before us, 
when does this period expire ? A similar inquiry is made in the text, 
namely, " How long the vision ? " " At," or till, " the time of the 
end shall be the vision." Then the 2300 years are to reach no further 
than the time of the end, the duration of that end being defined, not 
by the time of the vision, but by other times given in the twelfth 
chapter. Thus, 2300 to the beginning of the time of the end ; 1290 
to the commencement of the pouring out of that that is determined 
upon the Little Horn of the Goat ; and 1335 years (which close at 
the conclusion of " a time, times, and a half,") to the termination of 
the time of the end, when " the sanctuary, or holy, shall be cleansed" 
bv the seven months burial of the slain in Hamon-Gog. 3 To repeat 
the question, then, " How long the vision (concernino; the taking 
away of ) the daily, and the treading down by that which maketh 
desolate, to give both the holy (land) and the host (of Israel) to be 
trodden undei foot?" To this question it was replied, "Unto 2'i00 
days ; then shall the holy (land) be cleansed." We are not to 
understand by this, that the holy land would be cleansed in the 2301st 
year ; but that the 2300 years being expired, the subsequent event to 
be brought about would be the cleansing of the land of Israel. This is 
a work that requires time, and cannot possibly be accomplished tiK 
after the battle of Armageddon. 

I say that u the cleansing of the sanctuary " is the cleansing ol 
the land of Israel ; and I cannot conceive how any other interpretatiow 
can be put upon it in the face of Ezekiel's testimony as quoted 
below. He predicts the fighting of a great battle in the land ot 
Israel "in the latter days" which is synonymous with "the time of the 

» Isaiah lxii. 6, 7. - Dan. viik 17, 19. 3 F.rek xxxix. 11-10. 

A a2 



372 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

end." He describes it as taking place between the Lord God and a 
great northern power, which is signally defeated upon the mountains 
of Israel. The heaps of slain are enormous ; for it takes seven 
months to bury them, and seven years to use up their weapons as 
fire-wood for domestic purposes. " Seven months," says Ezekiel, 
" shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse 
the tand." Then describing the thorough manner in which the 
buriers shall do their work, so that not a single bone shall be left 
visible, he finishes this part of his prediction by saying, "Thus 
shall they cleanse the land." 

But, if the '2300 years terminate at the time of the end, when do 
they commence, that we may know when the time of the end begins? 
In the solution of the question I must remind the reader, that " the 
matter " of the Seventy Weeks is a prophetic interpretation of the 
eleventh and twelfth verses of the eighth chapter of Daniel, with a 
superaddition of other details. This being the case it follows that 
the time of " the matter" that is, the Seventy Weeks, or 490 years, 
is a part of the time of " the vision" or 2300 years. The matter 
was given some time after the vision, for the purpose, as it would 
seem, of indicating among other things the epoch at which the 2300 
irears should commence, for although the Ram, the Goat, and its 
Horns are introduced, the time does not relate to what was seen of 
them as hostile dominions ; but to them in relation to the daily sacri- 
fice and oblation, and to their treading under foot of Israel and the 
holy. Hence, the seventy weeks are dated from a decree issued by 
the Ram for the restoration and building of Jerusalem ; and the 
magnification against Messiah the prince, and the taking away of the 
daily, the destruction of the city and sanctuary, and the casting down 
of the truth to the ground, are referred to the Little Horn of the 
Goat, or* "people of the prince that should come" against Judea. 
The '2300 years, then, have relation to Israel and the holy city, and 
must be commenced with " the going forth of the commandment to 
restore and build Jerusalem ' as well as the seventy weeks ; that is, 
in the 20th year of the reign of Artaxerxes, B.C. 454,* and before the 
crucifixion 490 years. This being admitted, it follows that they 
must end 1810 years after Jesus was crucified, for 490 added to 1810 
are equal to 2300. Now Jesus was 32 years and 9 months when he 
entered on his ministry, which lasted 3 years and 6 months ; he was 
therefore 36 years and 3 months when he was " cut off, but not for 
himself." This being deducted from the 490 years, gives 453 years 
and 9 months after Artaxerxes' edict for the Annus Domini. To obtain 
the An. Dom. of the end of the 2300 years the 1810 must be added 
to the age of Jesus at his crucifixion, which will give 1846 years 
ending March 23, for the odd months are included in the 490. The 
year 1 846, then, is the true ending of the 2300 years ; but to what 
year of the vulgar era does this correspond? To the year 1843; 
for, as events at the birth of Jesus show, he was born 3 years and odd 
months before the common An. Dom. began. These must, therefore, 
be added to the vulgar era, which will synchronize 1843 and 1846. 
For the easier comprehension of the relative beginning and ending 

• See chronology at the end of the rotame. 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 373 

of the 2300, the 1290, and the 1335 years in relation to Israel and 
their country, I have subjoined a simple scale, which I think will 
answer the purpose; premising, however, that the "time, time<, and 
a half" of chapter twelve, which also terminate with the second end- 
ing of the " time, times, and dividing of time " of chapter seven, 
according to the diagram on page 323, are synchronous with the end 
of the 1335 years, beyond which none of the symbolical numbers 
extend. 



D. 530< . 



1335 years terminating A.D. 1865 



1290 years endinj A.D. 1820 | 2>-S£.2£.g.5'^ 

B.C. 454 



2300 years extending to A.D. 1846 | j^^nd ^ S * 



sgr^So^q 



Everlasting 
kingdom of 
Jesus Christ 
1000 years. 



From this diagram it will be seen that the 2300 terminated a few 
years later than the period of 1290 years ; and that the time of the 
end, and the 1335, come to a conclusion together, about A.D. 1865, 
which is 1868 years from the true An. Dom. For the same reason 
1820 is really 1823. I have set down the end of the 2300 years 
according to the true time ; and I would repeat here that the 1846 is 
the same year as what is commonly styled 1843. When the next 
fifteen years are passed, the numbers of Daniel, and of John's 
apocalypse, will have all come to an end. But before the world is 
brought into subjection to the sceptre of Jesus Christ, 40 years more 
will have passed away. During this time the nations are being sub- 
cltled by Israel, who are at the same time being disciplined " as in 
days of old" when they came out of Egypt under Moses, prepara- 
tory to their being planted in Canaan, and re-constituted the kingdom 
of God, of David, and of Christ their son. I have represented this 
period in the diagram by adding on a parallelogram which projects 
from that enclosing the time of the end, and 1865 ; then comes the 
kingdom of God which absorbs everything. 

Now, if my computation be correct, namely, that the 2300 years 
terminated in that commonly termed 1843, and that this was the 
beginning of the time of the end, we ought then to find on the 
political map a " king of the south," a " king of the north," and 
the Little Horn of the Goat, all contemporary. Besides this, we 
ought to find the king of the south making war on the Little Horn, 
and the land of Israel should be the subject of the strife. I say we 
ought to find these things in the time of the end, because the time 
of the vision, or 2300 years, is to the time of the end ; " for at the 
time appointed the end shall be : " and it is also written, " He ; " 
the Little Horn of the Goat, " shall divide the land for gain. And 
at the time of the end the king of the south shall push at him ; and 
the king of the north shall come against him." 1 It is evident from 
this that at the time of the end, there are to be two horns of the Goat 
and the little horn all coexistent, and as hostile in their policy as in 
the days of Antiochus Epiphanes. 

These are the things which ought to be, but what do we find? 

' Dan. xi, SO, 40. 



374 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

The answer is just what the prophecy requires. There is Mehemet 
AH, king of Egypt, or of the south ; the Russian Autocrat, king of 
the north, and the Sultan, the representative of the Little Horn of the 
Goat. The two former were brought up upon the territories of the 
ancient kings of the north and south, by the pouring out of that 
determined upon the Little Horn, subsequently to 1820, when the 
sixth vial began. There had been no kings of tne north and south 
upon the eastern Roman territory for many centuries previous to this 
period. The war between Russia and the Porte, however, in 1828 
advanced the frontiers of the Russian empire to Asia Minor, Ararat, 
and thence to the Caspian ; by which a considerable portion of the 
territory of the old Assyro-Macedonian kingdom is included in the 
dominions of the Autocrat. He is, therefore, in relation to Judea, 
the king of the north and representative of Antiochus Epiphanes. 
He is also " the Assyrian " of the latter days, for whom Tophet is 
ordained of old. 

Very soon after the Russian war which ended in 1829, Mehemet 
Ali established himself as king of the south. He attacked and con- 
quered Syria, and for a time was lord ascendant of the east. This 
exaltation opened new prospects to Mehemet, and he aspired to the 
throne of the Sultan. The time of the end was just at hand, there 
being only five years of the 2300 years to expire. In 1838, Mehemet 
Ali, king of the south, "pushed at " the Sultan. Hitherto he had 
confined his operations to Egypt and Syria, but now at the closing 
of the war he pushed for Constantinople, and advanced as far as 
Smyrna ; and but for the interference of the great powers, uncon- 
sciously " to establish the vision," he would doubtless have dethroned 
him. Wearied of this state of affairs which endangered " the balance 
of power," England, Russia, Prussia, and Austria undertook to 
establish peace, and to place things on a permanent footing. They 
ordered the king of the south to surrender Syria, including Palestine, 
to the sovereignty of the Little Horn ; and to restore the Turkish 
fleet which had revolted from the Sultan during the Mar. Mehemet 
refused to do either ; contending that Syria was his as a part of his 
kingdom for ever by right of conquest ; and the fleet, as the spoils 
of war. These great powers, however, were not to be trifled with. 
They were willing that the throne of Egypt should be hereditary in 
his family ; but deteimined that he should only be Pasha of Syria for 
life. But Mehemet would not yield, and the result was, that the 
allied fleet bombarded the cities of the Syrian sea-board, and took 
possession of St. Jean d'Acre. They again offered him "all that 
part of Syria, extending from the Gulph of Suez to the lake of 
Tiberias, together with the province of Acre for life," if he would 
restore the Turkish fleet. But he still refused, and in the autumn 
of 1840, they compelled the Egyptians to evacuate the country, and 
determined he should not have it at all ; and threatened that if he did 
not restore the fleet in ten days, they would bombard him in 
Alexandria. Prudence at length overcame the obstinacy of Mehemet; 
he therefore yielded, and surrendered the ships within the time. 
Thus, the land of Israel was returned to the sovereignty of the Little 



IN THEIU RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 375 

Horn, and Mehemet restricted to the kingdom of Egypt ; so that as 
the result of the sixth vial down to 1840, the political geography of 
the east had been so changed, that there now existed the king of the 
south in Egypt, the king of the north towards Ararat, and the dominion of 
the Little Horn of the Goat between them, extending to the Euphrates. 

Such are the important events which mark the termination of the 
2300 years, and the commencement of the time of the end. They 
are evidential of the time having arrived to which the Lord refers, 
saying, " / will remember my covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and 
Jacob, and I will remember the land." l Mehemet Ali claimed the 
land as his for ever; but Jehovah hath said, " the land shall not be 
sold for -ever ; for the land is mine/' If, then, the Lord would not 
permit the Israelites to alienate it from one to another for ever, he 
would be far from permitting Mehemet to possess it, or the Allies to 
grant it to him, for ever. The hand of (rod may be clearly discerned 
in the events of this epoch. He hardened the king of Egypt's heart 
not to accept the land on any other terms than his own, which were 
certain not to be granted. If they had yielded to his demand, " the 
eastern question '*' would have been diplomatically settled, and the 
course of events regarding Israel turned into a different, and perhaps, 
opposite, channel; but as the affair of 1840 has left the country, its 
destiny remains to be the subject of a future arrangement, when the 
dominion of the Little Horn subsides into that of the Russo- Assyrian 
Horn of the Goat. 

The eleventh chapter of Daniel is therefore fulfilled as far as the 
first colon of the fortieth verse. The things which remain to be 
accomplished in the time of the end are briefly outlined in the 
remaining part of the chapter. The king of Egypt having pushed 
at the Little Horn, as we have seen, the next event of the prophecy 
is an attack upon him by the king of the north, as it is written, "And 
the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with 
chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships;" that is, the 
Russo- Assyrian autocrat shall attack Constantinople by sea and land, 
and with such whirlwind impetuosity that the Sultan's dominion shall 
be swept away. The Russian fleet of forty ships in the Black Sea is 
in preparation for this event. The whirlwind-nature of the attack 
implies, I think, not only its overwhelming character, but that when 
it is made, the allies of the Sultan will be off their guard; that is, 
by the Autocrat's assurances of peace and moderation for which they 
will give him credit, Constantinople will be left unprotected, and it 
will fall into his hands before they can come to the rescue> To 
"push at him" and to "come against him," are phrases which 
imply more than simple invasion ; they indicate likewise the direction 
that invasion is to take. In the case of the king of the south; when 
he "pushed at him " he directed his course towards Constantinople, 
but he did not "come against him," because he was stopped by 
" the powers." The king of the north, however, is to do more than 
push, he is actually to " come against " the Sultan, which can only 
be done by sitting down before Constantinople. 

I Lev. xxvi. 42, 



376 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

Now between the pushing of the king of the south in 1839, and 
the coining of the king of the north, there has as yet been an interval 
of ten years. It is not to be supposed that the Autocrat would attack 
the Porte without some provocation, real or pretended. It is therefore 
the mission of the Frogs, as we have seen in a former chapter, to 
bring about such a state of things as will involve the Autocrat and 
Suhan in war. This situation has been created, and, it is probable, 
that when spring arrives the Sultan will be attacked, and that 185 
will see the end of the Ottoman dominion. The reader will perceive, 
then, that the operation of the Frog-power comes in between the 
attacks of the king of Egypt, and the Russo- Assyrians, upon the 
Porte. The policy they originate is to involve the whole .habitable 
in war, the more immediate effect of which will be, that " the king 
of the north shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and 
pass over." To " enter into the countries " implies invasion ; but to 
" overflow and pass over/' indicates conquest. The result of the 
conquest will be that " many countries shall be overthrown." The 
war will have made terrible havoc with the horn-kingdoms and the 
Austro-papal empire; the former will have lost their independence, 
and the latter will have been " destroyed unto the end." 

Of the horn-kingdoms, it is predicted, saying, " These shall make 
war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them ; " 1 and 
again, " The Beast and the kings of the earth, and their armies, 
gathered together to make war against him that sat upon the horse, 
and against his army. And (these) the remnant were slain with the 
sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of 
his mouth : and all the fowls were filled with their flesh." * Now 
this field of battle is to be the valley of Megiddo in the land of Israel. 
In view of this, has the question ever occured to the reader, what 
possible inducement could there be for the kings of Belgium, Spain, 
Portugal, Sardinia, Naples, &c, to march their armies into Palestine? 
What inducement was there for the kings of Europe to meet Napoleon 
at Dresden, and to march their armies into Russia in 1812 ? It was 
compulsion, and not inclination. A similar cause will operate on 
them again. When the king of the north " overflows and passes 
over " their countries, they will become subject to him as their 
emperor ; and when his autocracy shall attain the extent marked out 
for it in the word, his dominion will be fitly represented by Nebu- 
chadnezzar's Image of which they will be the toes. They must exist 
as regal parts of a great dominion until Christ comes ; because they 
are to war with him in person ; and because God will set up his 
kingdom in their time ; and having broken to pieces the power of 
their imperial ruler on the mountains of Israel, by that same kingdom 
he will " break in pieces and consume all their's." 

The overthrow of the Sultan and the countries of the west, will 
not have been contemplated by the British government with indiffer- 
ence. They have already beheld continental Europe to the confines 
of Russia subject to the will of one man, and they are destined to 
witness it again. They will unquestionably adopt all possible measures 

' Bev. xvii. 14. ' Rev xis. 19, 21, 17, 18 ; Ezek.-xxxix. 17—21. 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 377 

to circumvent the Autocrat. England's Indian empire, and its 
contiguity to Asiatic Russia, make her his natural enemy. It will ho 
her policy to prevent him from taking possession of Egypt and the 
Holy Land; for if he were to do this, he would intercept all 
communication between England and India by the Red Sea. Hence, 
while she is the natural enemy of the Autocrat, she is also the natural 
friend of Egypt and the Jews. The triumph of Russia in the west 
will cause her to strengthen herself in the east; and, as I shall show 
if I have room, she will take possession of Sheba, Dedan, Edom, 
Moab, and part of Amnion ; colonize Judea with Israelites, and 
form an intimate alliance of offence and defence with Egypt. Thus 
the Red Sea will become a British lake ; and by holding Gibraltar, 
Aden, and some commanding position at the entrance of the Persian 
Gulph, she will be enabled to retain for a short time longer her 
commercial and maritime ascendancy. 

But these measures of the British will be the means of luring on 
the Autocrat to his destruction. Having fulfilled the mission of his 
"sacred Russia" to put down rebellion, to plant the Greek cross on 
the dome of St. Sophia, and to prostrate Europe at his feet, he will 
next address himself to the work of establishing his dominion over 
the east. The prosperity of Egypt and Judea will tempt him to seize 
them for himself ; for, as the prophet saith, " He shall enter also into 
the glorious land, and many shall be overthrown ; but these shall 
escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the 
children of Amnion." He will have proclaimed war against the 
east ; and at the head of his vassal kings and their armies have invaded 
Syria. The war will be bloody, and his hosts, like a cloud to cover 
the land. Having over-run Syria, and Persia, he will invade Egypt, 
Libya, and Ethiopia. For it is written, " He shall stretch forth his 
hand also upon the countries : and the land of Egypt shall not 
escape. But he shall have power over the treasures of gold, and of 
silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans 
and Ethiopians shall be at his steps." This subjugation of Egypt 
arouses all the indignation of Britain. England's interference 
troubles him ; for " tidings out of the east and out of the north shall 
trouble him : therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, 
and utterly to make away many." Judea will now feel the weight 
of his power. He will lay siege to Jerusalem, and take it ; for, 
" He shall pitch his palatial tents in the glorious holy mountain." 
•*' Yet," though thus far triumphant " he shall come to his end, and 
none shall help him." As a further elucidation of this portion of the 
book of Daniel I shall now proceed to speak of the prophecy in 
relation to 

GOGUE AND MAGOGUEJ 
Tov Tojy Kai tov Mayooy 

These names occur together in two remarkable prophecies, the one 
delivered through Ezekiel, 2 and the other through the apostle John. 3 

' I spell these names as they should be pronounced. ' Ecgk. xxxviii. 2, 3; xxxix. 6. 3 Rev. zx. 8. 



378 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

No portion of scripture has been more mangled, perhaps, than these ; 
yet there is none, as it appears to me, more easy to be understood. 
An illustration of popular opinion on the subject may be seen gp 
Guildhall, or in "the Lord Mayor's show/' where two huge giants 
appear, whom the wise men of Gotham have rhantized " Gog and 
Magog!" Interpreters have enlightened the public upon this sub- 
ject about as much as the wooden giants themselves. They generally 
confound the Gogue and Magogue of Ezekiel with the Gogue and 
Magogue of the apocalypse; but if the reader carefully examine the 
two testimonies, he will find that they have reference to different times 
exceedingly remote from each other. The apocalyptic Gogue and 
Magogue are the nations and their leader, who rebel against the 
government of Christ and the saints, 1000 years after the binding of the 
Greco-Roman Dragon is finished. They are the then existing nations 
outlying the lan'd of Israel on the north, south, east, and west; who, 
being seduced from their allegiance, revolt and invade Canaan, and 
lay siege to Jerusalem, but are destroyed by fire from heaven. They 
are styled Gogue and Magogue because the confederacy is similar to 
that of Ezekiel's prophecy ; being a combination of the posterity 
of the same populations to invade the same land, to take possession 
of the same city, and for the same purpose, namely, to seize the 
sceptre of universal empire, which has been the matter of contest 
since God first put enmity between the seed of the serpent and the 
seed of the woman. 

If the reader compare the two prophecies he will discern the follow- 
ing diversities, which prove them to be confederacies belonging to 
different epochs. 

1. The Gogue of Ezekiel invades Judea u in the latter days;" but 
the apocalyptic Gogue does not invade the land till 1000 years after 
the binding of the dragon; 

2. Ezekiel's Gogue goes forth from the north ; John's, from the 
four corners of the earth ; 

3. The Ezekiel- Gogue's invasion is the occasion of the Lord's ap- 
pearance, and therefore pre-millennial ; but that of John's is after the 
Lord has reigned with his saints on earth 1000 years, and therefore 
post-millennial ; 

4. The Lord himself brings the Ezekiel-Gogue against his land ; 
but some arch-rebel stirs up hitherto loyal nations against the govern- 
ment, and as the apocalyptic Gogue and Magogue defy the king 
already in Jerusalem ; 

5. The Lord brings the Ezekiel-Gogue up to battle against Jeru- 
salem, that he may be made known to. the nations; but John's Gogue 
has known him for 1000 years ; and 

6. A sixth part of Ezekiel's Gogue escapes destruction, and the 
dead are buried ; but John's Gogue is entirely destroyed by fire. 

The prophecy of Ezekiel concerning Gogue evidently relates to a 
power that is to arise hereafter; for the Lord says in his address to 
its chief, " In the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is 
brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, 
against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste : but 



\W W1MA RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 379 

tC.'ts Lu\ v \vU fWtb oil of the nations, and they shall dw ell safely all 
ci t*i2i...'* \u ano'uer verse of this chapter, the " latter years " are 
termed " VcUtr duyy/' as it is written, a And thou shalt come up 
against my people o\ ? .L>iael, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be 
in the latter days, and 1 will bring thee against my land." This 
testimony shows, that thav. will have been a gathering of the Jews to 
some extent before Gogu-2 iivaios their land ; and that this gathering is 
subsequent to a long desolation of the country. Hence, those 
acquainted with Jewish history wi.H perceive directly, that the predic- 
tion has not been fulfilled; but is yet in the future, and belongs to 
"the time of the end," which -is synchronous with "the latter 
days/' 

The prophecy of Gogue cominocfegs at the events set forth in the 
forty-first verse of the eleventh of Dam-al. In short, Ezekiel's pro- 
phecy of Gogue is an amplification of Daniel's concerning the king 
of the north. That these two powers arc the same will be manifest 
from the following considerations : 

1. Gogue, or the prince of Ros, is ki.ig of Meshech and Tubal, 
therefore he is king of the north geogiap^unally ; those countries 
being north of the Holy Land, which, acoo-'tiirg to the covenant, 
extends to Amanus and the Euphrates ; 

2. Gogue is to invade the land of Israel " from the north parts" and 
" in the latter days ;" and the king of the north y to enter into the 
same country at the same time; therefore, as the/ come against the 
same enemy and at the same time, they must be ttts and the same 
power ; 

3. The Libyans and Ethiopians belong to Gogue'sarmy ; and Daniel 
testifies, that " the Libyans and Ethiopians are at ihs .steps of the 
king of" the north," that is, they march among his troops ; 

4. Hostile tidings come to Gogue from Sheba and Dedan eastward ; 
and from " the Merchants of Tarshish and the young Kons i.Vreof " 
northward : so also, " tidings out of the east and out of the L.o^tjh," 
suys Daniel, " shall trouble the king of the noith ;" 

5. Gogue is to " fall upon the mountains of Israel," where h» ara 
his multitudes are to be buried; so the king of the north haying 
encamped " between the seas in the glorious holy mountain," the 
hill-country, "comes to his end" there, with "none to he*p 
him :" and, 

6. Gogue unexpectedly encounters the Lord God in battle on the 
mountains of Israel ; and the king of the north contends with 
Michael the great prince, who standeth up for Israel, and deliveri 
them : they are both defeated and deprived of dominion by the sam ■■? 
supernatural power. 

Here, then, are six particulars which clearly establish the identity o\ 
Gogue with the king of the north. The multitudes they are destined 
to lead into the Holy Land are the "all nations' 1 which Zeehariah 
has predicted the Lord will gather together against Jerusalem, to 
destroy them in battle with a small exception j 1 and whose slain arc 
" the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against the Lord, 

1 Zech. liv. 2. 



380 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

whose worm shall not die, nor their lire be quenched ; and who shall 
be an abhorring to all flesh/' l who pass through ft the valley of the 
passengers on the east of the sea :" - for the consumption of their 
bodies by the worm will commence while they are yet standing alive 
upon their feet; 3 so that like Antiochus Epiphanes, the stench of 
their consuming bodies will " stop the noses of the passers by." 

The prophet Ezekiel is addressed by Jehovah as the type, or repre- 
sentative, of Him, who is to vanquish Gogue on the mountains of 
Israel. Hence, he says to him, " So?i of Man, set thy face against 
Gogue, the land of Magogue, the chief prince of Meshech, and 
Tubal, and prophecy against him." In this title to the prophecy, the 
antagonists are indicated, namely, the Son of Man on one side, and 
Gogue on the other. But, while it is quite clear who the Son of 
Man is, it is but little understood what power is represented by Gogue. 
It will, therefore, be my endeavor in the following pages to identify 
this adversary of Israel and their king; so that the reader may 
know which of " the powers that be" is chosen of God to personate 
the serpent's head when it is crushed by the woman's Seed. 

The Jews appointed by Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Egypt, to 
translate the Old Testament into Greek, gave a different rendering 
of the above title to that which appears in the english version. They 
rendered the original by Twy, apxovTa Pwo-, Meo-ox- *<" 0o/3e\, i. e. Gogue, 
prince of Ros, Mesoch, and Thobel ; so that the difference of the 
two translations turns upon the Hebrew word rosh being regarded as 
a proper, or common, noun. The Seventy were sensible, that in this 
place it was not an appellative noun, but a proper name ; and they 
rendered it accordingly by Ros. But Jerome not finding any such 
proper name among the nation-families mentioned in Genesis, rather 
disputed the septuagint reading, and preferred to consider the 
word Ros as a common noun ; and his interpretation, established in 
the Latin Vulgate, has universally prevailed throughout the west. 
Jerome, however, was more scrupulous than the editors of later ver- 
sions, who have unqualifiedly rejected it as a proper name ; for 
although he inclined to the other rendering, he did not feel authorized 
to reject altogether one so ancient, and he has therefore preserved 
them both, translating the passage thus — " Gogue, terram Magogue, 
principem capitis (sive Ros) Mosoch, et Thubal." 

But the question between the phrases " the chief prince," and 
" the prince of Ros," has been long set at rest by the concurring 
judgment of the learned, who have adopted the primitive interpreta- 
tion of the Alexandrine Jews. And although the common english 
version has not the benefit of their decision, yet the title of the pro- 
phecy has been generally received among the erudite portion of the 
western nations lor nearly 200 years, according to the ancient Greek 
interpretation ; that is to say, as uniting the three proper names of 
nations Ros, Mosc,an& Tobl,or ttf*n, "Jl^O or "|OTJ and 'miT By 
the insertion of vowels, or vowel-points, these words have been made 
to assume the different forms of Meshech, Mesoch, Tubal and Thobel; 
but, as the meaning of Hebrew words depends not on the points, btit 

1 Isaiah Ixvi. 24. 'Ezek. xxxix. 11. » Zech. xiv. 12. 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 381 

upon the radical consonants, or letters, it may be as well to express 
these names by the forms and elements of the original words, for by 
so doing we keep nearer to the original idea, and are less likely to be 
mystified by hypothesis. " Ros," says David Levi, " is not an 
appellative, as in the common translation of the Bible, but a proper 
name." The word " chief" ought, therefore, to be replaced by the 
proper name llos, or Rosh. 

But what nations are signified by these three proper names ? This 
question has been long since determined by the learned. The cele- 
brated Bochart, about the year 1640, observed in his elaborate re- 
searches into Sacred Geography, that PQS, Ros, is the most ancient 
form under which history makes mention of the name of Russia ; 
and he contended that Ros and Mosc properly denote the nations of 
Russia and Moscovy. "It is credible," says he, "that from Rhos 
and Mesech (that is the Rhossi and Moschi) of whom Ezekiel 
speaks, descended the Russians and Moscovites, nations of the 
greatest celebrity in European Scythia." We have, indeed, ample 
and positive testimony, that the Russian nation was called PQ2, Ros, 
by the Greeks in the earliest period in which we find it mentioned, as, 
E0j/os tie bi Pws 'S.kvQikov, irept tov apK-rtoov Tavpov ; that is, " the Ros are a 
Scythian nation, bordering on the northern Taurus." And their own 
historians say, "It is related that the Russians (whom the Greeks 
called Pws, Ros, and sometimes Pwo-os, Rosos) derived their name 
from Ros, a valiant man, who delivered his nation from the yoke 
of their tyrants." 

Thus, then, we discern the modern names of Russia and of Moscow, 
or Moskwa, in the ancient names of Ros and Mosc, or Muse. It is 
not difficult to recognize in Tobl, Tubl, or Thobel, a name which 
naturally connects itself with them ; and which, in conjunction with 
them, tends, in a very remarkable manner, to determine and fix the 
proper object of the prediction. The river Tobol gives name to the 
city Tobohim, or Tobolshi, the metropolis of the extensive region 
of Siberia, lying immediately eastward of the territories of Moscovy, 
or Mosc. Tobol and Mosc are mentioned together by Ezekiel, 
who characterizes them as nations trading in copper ; 1 a 
metal which, it is notorious, abounds in the soil of Siberia ; a region 
which includes all the northern part of Asia which borders on Russia 
to the west, on the Ice-Sea to the north, on the Eastern Ocean on the 
east, and on Great Tartary to the south. And thus the three denomi- 
nations Ros, Mosc, and Tobl, united in the prophecy, point out, with 
equal capacity and conciseness, those widely extended regions, which, 
at the present day, we denominate collectively The Russian 
Empire. 

Gogue is styled the " Prince of Ros, Mosc, and Tobl," that is, 
Autocrat of the Russians, Moscovites, and Siberians, or of " All the 
Russias." But, he is also styled " Gogue, of the land of Magogue," 
as well. There is something important in this. It aflirms that he is 
sovereign of Magogue as well as prince of all the Russias ; for there, 
at the time of the prophecy, is his proper dominion. " Whoever 

' Ezek. xxvii. 13. 



382 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

reads Ezekiel," says Michaelis, "can hardly entertain a doubt tW 
Gogue is the name of a sovereign, and Magogue that of his people ; 
the prophet speaks of the former, not as a people, but as an 
Emperor." Let us, then, now inquire, where is the region styled 
Magogue ; that we may be enabled to ascertain of what people 
besides the Russians, Gogue will be the Emperor. And as Gomer, 
and Togarmah of the north quarters, are represented as being con- 
nected with him, we shall also endeavor to find out what modern 
nations will answer to these names. 

We know from the Hebrew scriptures that Magogue and Gomer 
were the names of two sons of Japhet ; and it is to ancient Hebrew 
authority alone that we can resort to learn where, according to the 
common repute of the Israelites, the nations which descended from 
these two heads of families, and which long retained the proper names 
of those heads, were spread and established. Josephus says, " that 
Japhet, the son of Noah, had seven sons ; who, proceeding from 
their primitive seats in the mountains of Taurus and Amanus, 
ascended Asia to the river Tanais (or Don) ; and there entering 
Europe, penetrated as far westward as the Straits of Gibraltar, occu- 
pying the lands which they successively met with in their progress ; 
all of which were uninhabited ; and bequeathed their names to their 
different families, or nations. That Gomer founded the Gomari, 
whom the Greeks, at that time, called Galatje — tous wv v<t>' EWtivwp 
TaWaTas KaXovfiEvov^ ; — and that Magogue founded the Magogas, whom 
the Greeks then called Scythae, 2/cu0ai." It only, therefore, remains 
for us to ascertain, which were the nations that the Greeks, in the 
time of Josephus, called Scythae, and which they then called Galatce; 
and to observe whether the geographical affinities of these nations are 
such as answer to those which are plainly required by the prophecy 
for Magogue and Gomer. 

Herodotus, the most ancient Greek writer accessible, acquaints us, 
" that the name Scythae was a name given by the Greeks to an 
ancient and widely extended people of Europe, who had spread 
themselves from the river Tanais, or Don, westward, along the banks 
of the Ister, or Danube." "The Greeks," observes Major Rennel, 
" appear to have first used the term Scythia, in its application to their 
neighbours, the Scythians of the Euxine, who were also called 
Getce, or Gothi; and were those who afterwards subdued the Roman 
empire : and from which original stock the present race of people in 
Europe seem to be descended." And again, " the Scythians of 
Herodotus appear to have extended themselves in length from 
Hungary, Transylvania, and Wallachia, on the westward; to the 
river Don on the eastward." Thus the testimony of Herodotus and 
Josephus is in perfect agreement concerning the progress of Magogue 
and Gomer. In these same regions the Scythae continued many ages 
after Herodotus, and even long after the time of Josephus ; for Dio 
Cassius, who lived 150 years after Josephus, and above 200 after 
Christ, relates, that Pompey, in his return into Europe from Asia, 
" determined to pass to the Ister, or Danube, through the Scythae ; 
and so to enter Italy." Ttase were the original Scythes. But 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 383 

Herodotus states further, that a portion of the same people, in an 
after age, turned back upon the European seats of their fathers, and 
established themselves in Asia ; and from these sprung the Asiatic 
Scythae, who, in process of time, almost engrossed the name to 
themselves. 

Since the name of Scythae, i. e. Magogue, is to be considered not 
by itself, but in geographical connexion with Galatae, or Gomer, we 
have only to inquire, whether an} geographical affinity is really 
ascribed by the Greeks to the Scythae and Galatae? and to ascertain 
to what regions of the earth those names, so associated, were applied. 
If we can discover these two points, We ought thereby to have dis- 
covered specifically the Magogue of the prophecy, which is to be 
associated with the region, or people, of Gomer. 

Diodorus Siculus, who lived about a century before Josephus, 
traces them much further into Europe than the Danube ; even to the 
shores of the Baltic, and to the very confines of the Galatce of the 
Greeks. In speaking of the amber found upon the shores of that 
sea, he there places the region expressly denominated, " Scythia 
above, or north of, Galatia." In which description we at length find 
the Scythae, or Magogue, in the immediate neighborhood of the 
Galatae of the Greeks, or Gomer. 

Galatia, TaXaria, is the common and familiar naihe used by all the 
earlier Greek historians for Gaul, the Gallia of the Latins; and 
Galatae, raXtrrai, is the common Greek name for Gauls, or the Galli 
of the Latins. Thus, "all the Galatae," (or Gauls) says Strabo, 
"were called Qeltae by the Greeks ;" and the converse is equally 
true: " the Celtae were called Galatae by the Greeks, and Galli by 
the Latins." To inquire, who were "the Galatae of the Greeks?" is, 
therefore, the same, as to inquire who were the Galli of the Romans ? 
A colony of these Galatae, or Galli, indeed, in the third oenturv 
before Qhrist, emigrated from Gaul and established themselves in 
Asia Minor; where they were ever after called by their Greek name, 
Galatians. Diodorus* " Scythia above Gaul extending towards the 
Baltic," accurately describes that large tract of Europe above the 
Rhine, or northern boundary of Gaul, through which flow the rivers 
Elbe, Ems, and Weser. Here, and in the countries immediately 
adjoining, were the ScYTHiE bordering upon the Galatje on the 
north; that is to say, a considerable part of Magogue, geographically 
associated with Gomer.* Diodorus elsewhere describes the northern 
part of Galatia, or Gaul, as confining upon Scythia, "The Greeks," 
says he, " call those who inhabit Marseilles and the inland territory, 
and all those who dwelt towards the Alps and the Pyrenean Moun- 
tains, by the name of Celts; but those who occupy the country lying 
to the northward, between the Ocean and the Hyrcynian mountain, 
and all others as far as Scythia, they denominate Galatae ; but the 
Romans call all those nations by one collective appellation, Galatae ; 
that is, Galli." These geographical affinities unite in the name of 
Celto-Scythae, mentioned by Strabo. " The ancient Greeks," says 

• " Gomer, ex que Galatae, id est, Galli," that is to say, " Gomer, from whom proceeded the Galatw, 
tha is, the Gauls." Isidor. Origin, lib. ix. He wrote about A.D. 400. 



884 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

he, "at first called the northern nations by the general name of 
Scythians; but when they became acquainted with the nations in the 
West, they began to call them by the different names of Celts, Celto- 
Scythae ;" and again, M the ancient Greek historians called the 
northern nations, collectively, Scythians, and Celto-Scythae :" which 
latter name plainly denoted the most western portion of the Seythae, 
adjoining Gaul ; of the number of whom were the Seythae on the 
north of the Galatae, or the Zicvdai virzp TaXartav. 

In this general description may easily be discerned, that extended 
portion of the West of Europe, comprehending ancient Gaul, 
Belgium, and the countries bordering upon them, which constituted 
in our day the Napoleon empire. Gomer, then, points immediately 
to France. It is a curious coincidence that Louis Philippe paid his 
visit to England in the Gomer ; when this vessel was thus named, 
did they adopt it allusively to their country being originally peopled 
by the descendants of Gomer ? " Scythia above Gaul," or Magogue 
above Gomer, or to the north of it, through which flowed the Elbe, 
Ems, and Weser, was the country from whence proceeded principally 
that renowned people, who, in the early ages of Romanism, formed 
an extensive confederacy with their kindred nations upon the Rhine, 
which had migrated successively thither from the regions of the 
Danube ; and who, under the common denomination of Franks, 
overran Gaul, and subdued it ; and finally establishing their power 
and population in the conquered country, permanently superseded the 
name of Gaul by that of France. " As for the seats of the 
Franks," says the *' Universal History," " it appears from their con- 
stant excursions into Gaul, that they dwelt on the banks of the Rhine, 
in the neighborhood of Mentz. All historians speak of them as 
placed there till their settling in Gaul. Their country, according to 
the best modern geographers and historians, was bounded on the 
north by the Ocean ; on the west by the Ocean and the Rhine ; on 
the south by the Maine; and on the east by the Weser." 

These, therefore, were the KeXTo-'EKvdai, or 2/cu6ai uirsp Tt\» TaXanav, 
the Celto-Scythians, or Scythians on the northern confine of Gaul ; 
that is, Magogue in contiguity with Gomer. The Chaldean inter- 
preter applies the name of Magogue to the Germans, in' short all the 
ancients looked for the Magogue of scripture in the West. The 
Seythae of Asia, who, as we have seen, were only a partial emigra- 
tion, or reflux, from their ancient stock in Europe, cannot, with any 
soundness of criticism, be taken account of in this argument. 

" Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands," is also to 
form a part of the Gogue's confederacy against the Holy Land in " the 
time of the end." There is little said about Togarmah in history 
beyond conjecture. He was a son of Gomer, therefore his posterity 
would migrate originally from the same locality as Gomel's other 
descendants — namely, from the mountains of Taurus and Amanus ; 
but, instead of going westward with their brethren, they diffused 
themselves over " the north quarters" that is, relatively to Judea. 
Ezekiel says, " the house of Togarmah traded in the Tyrian fains 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 385 

with horses, and horsemen, and mules." 1 Hence doubtless they were 
a nomadic people, tending flocks and herds in the pasture lands of the 
north, where nature favored their production with little care and 
expense. Russian, and Independent, Tartary are the countries of 
Togarmah, from which in former times poured forth the Turcoman 
cavalry, *' which," says Gibbon, *' they proudly computed by mil- 
lions." Georgia and Circassia, probably, are u bands of Togarmah's 
house." 

These, then, are the regions which are to supply the numerous and 
formidable armies with which their arrogant and mighty emperor, 
prophetically denominated Gogue, is hereafter "to ascend as a cloud" 
against the Holy Land, not long after he shall have gone, "like 
a whirlwind," against the Little Horn. Let us now consider, as 
briefly as possible, the applicability of this word to the Prince of 
Ros, Mosc, and Tobl. 

" Gogue of the land of Ma-Gogue," that, is, styling the ruler of 
Magogue by the latter syllable of the name of the country over 
which he rules. We have seen that Magogue is the region extending 
from the Ros, or Russia, to the Rhine, comprehending Wallachia. 
Transylvania, Hungary, and Germany. Of course the prophecy 
must be future, because the Prince of the Ros, is the Gogue of 
Magogue; and as yet no emperor of Russia has been also emperor of 
Germany, &c. But, why is the future autocrat of Gomer, Magogue, 
Ros, Mosc, Tobl, and Togarmah, styled Gogue ? 

There is no name in the Bible which has more puzzled the critics 
than this of Gogue. The depths of Hebrew etymology have been 
explored in vain, and the versatile efforts of ingenuity in vain 
exerted, in the search of a mystical sense which might attach to this 
name. But Gogue is a Gentile, and not a Hebrew name; and 
Michaelis has correctly remarked, " that the origin of a barbaric, or 
foreign name, ought not to be sought for in the Hebrew, nor in any 
of its kindred tongues, as many have erroneously done." A writer 
some thirty-five years ago, who very incorrectly applied the name to 
Napoleon, refers to Fredegarius' History as the only satisfactory 
account of any person of the name of Gogue. Without adopting 
his application of it to the French emperor, I will give the substance 
of what he says concerning it. 

It is a proper name well known to continental history ; and borne 
in one notable instance, by an ancient ruler, which answers imme- 
diately to the Magogue of the scriptures. Gogue was the proper 
name of the Major Domns Regiae, or chief of the palace, who, after 
having been exalted by the voice of the nation to the highest authority, 
fell by a violent and sanguinary death. The name of this personage 
appears in the history which is written in Latin under the double form 
of Gogo (onis) and Gogns (i) ; these different terminations and 
inflexions having been suffixed to the original name. But although 

O o O 

modern authors have followed those Latin forms, the name has never- 
theless been preserved in the vernacular tongue, with its genuine, 
original, and simple enunciation of Gogue. 

1 Ezek. xxvii. 14. 

B B 



386 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

About sixty years after the death of Sigebert, king of Austrasia, 
A.D. 575, Fredegarius undertook to write the history of his reign ; 
m which he gives the following account of Gogue. 

" When Sigebert (grandson of Clovis) saw that his brothers had 
contracted marriages with women of inferior condition, he sent Gogue 
on an embassy to the king of Spain, to demand his daughter, Bruna, 
in marriage. The king sent her, with great treasures, to Sigebert ; 
and in order to add greater dignity to her name, it was changed to 
Brunechildis. Sigebert received her for his consort, with great 
rejoicings. 

" Prior to this event, and during the infancy of Sigebert, the 
Austrasians had made choice of the Duke Chrodinus, to be Major 
Domus Regise, or chief of the palace ; because he was a man of vig- 
orous conduct in affairs, fearing God, endued with patience, and 
possessing no quality but what rendered him dear both to God and 
men. Chrodinus rejected the honor proffered to him ; saying, ' I am 
unable to establish peace in Austrasia ; for all the nobles and gentry 
of all Austrasia are allied to me by blood ; and I have not the power 
of enforcing discipline among them, or of taking away the life of any 
man. They will all rise against me to follow their own superstitions ; 
and God forbid, that their actions should draw me into the condem- 
nation of hell. Choose ye, therefore, from among yourselves whom 
ye may approve.' 

" When they could find no one they chose Gogue, the tutor of the 
prince, by the advice of Chrodinus, to be the Major Domus Regiae. 
And on the following morning, Chrodinus repaired the first to the 
dwelling of Gogue, and placed his arm upon his neck ; which the 
rest perceiving, they all followed his example. And thus was the 
government of Gogue prosperous ; until he brought Brunechildis out 
of Spain. But she soon rendered him odious to Sigebert, who, by 
her instigation, put him to death. " 

The high authority of Gogue while he held the reigns of the 
Austrasian government, is strongly marked in the complimentary 
poems addressed to him by Fortunatus, Bishop of Poitiers, a distin- 
guished poet of that age ; from one of which the following passage 
translated from the Latin may be worthy of selection, on account 
of its geographical references, so remarkably connecting the proper 
name of Gogue with the Rhenish section of Magogue. 

TO GOGUE HIMSELF. 

Ye clouds whose course the northern winds impel, 

Of my lov'd Gogue some grateful tidings tell ! 

Say, with what health his valued life is blest ; 

What peaceful cares engage his tranqufl breast. 

If on the banks of Hhme awhile he sft^r. 

Where the rich salmon yields itself a psr. 

Or where Mos'dle throngh vineyards gu«tes «ir stream, 

While gentle breezes cool the sultry gleam, 

Or flowing waters mitigate the heat 

And with fresh waves the bowery margins greet. 

Or where the Meuxe in murmurs soft is heard, 

Mid threefold wealth, of vessel, fish, and bird. 

Or where the A hue through grassy banks is borne, 

Whose waters nourish pasturage and corn. 

Or if by Oise, by Sarc, by ('her, or Scheld, 

Somme, Sainbre, Saur, th« loitering Chief beheld. 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF QOD 387 

Or when the Scillf, with mouth expanded, laves 
Muz stately bulwarks with her copious waves, 
©r if in forest shades he seeks his prey, 
With toil, or spear, to capture, or to slay. 
Or if on Ardennes wild, or Fosse's height, 
The echoing woods resound his arrow's flight. 
Or if, return'd beneath his princely dome, 
Their lord, a zealous people welcome home." 

Of the origin, or family, of Gogue, the first Maire du Palais, op 
Dux Francorum, of the kingdom of Austrasia, no mention is made 
in history ; but it is plainly to be collected from the words of Chro- 
dinus, that he had no consanguinity with either the nobles, or the 
gentry— the " primates," or " liberi," of that kingdom; and it seems 
equally implied in the words of Fredegarius, that he was not a native 
of the kingdom, since he was elected to his dignity, because the 
Austrasians could find no one among themselves. 

Thus, it is evident, that Gogue is an historical character, and that 
he was Regent of a part of Magogue. Now, it is probable, that, 
because of certain peculiarities in his history in relation to Magogue, 
God selected his name as the prophetic title of one, who should rule 
over the same country in " the time of the end." The resemblances 
between the historical, and prophetic, Gogues may be stated as 
follows. I shall distinguish them as Gogue I. and Gogue II. 

1. Gogue I. was a foreigner; Gogue II. will be one likewise, 
belonging to the Ros, and not to the Germans ; 

2. Gogue I. became sovereign in fact, though not de jure; Gogue 
II. will become sovereign in fact by conquest ; 

3. Gogue I. became ruler in a time of confusion, because the 
native princes could not maintain order ; weakness of the sovereigns, 
and anarchy of the people, will precede the de facto sovereignty of 
Gogue II. also ; 

4. Gogue I., though exalted to the highest post of honor and 
power, short only of the legitimate sovereignty, was precipitated from 
his high estate by a violent death. This is also the destiny of the 
prophetic Gogue, who is to " come to his end, and no one shall help 
him." 

With these premises before us, I have no doubt, that the following 
paraphrase will present the reader with the true import of the exor- 
dium to the prophecy of Ezekiel concerning Gogue. 

" Son of Man, set thy face against Gogue, the emperor of Ger- 
many, Hungary, &c, and autocrat of Russia, Moscovy, and 
Tobolskoi, and prophecy against him, and say, Thus saith the Lord 
God; Behold I am against thee, O Gogue, autocrat of Russia, 
Moscovy, and Tobolskoi : and I will turn thee about, and put a bit 
into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth from the north parts, and 
all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them accoutred with all 
sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all 
of them handling swords : among whom shall be Persians, Ethio- 
pians, and Libyans ; all of them with shields and helmet : French 
and Italians, &c. ; Circassians, Cossacks, and the Tartar hordes of 
Usbeck, &c. : and many people not particularly named besides. Be 
thou prepared; prepare thyself, thou, and all thy company 

B b2 



389 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

that are assembled unto thee ; and be thou Imperial Chief to 
them." 

From these premises, then, I think, there cannot be the shadow 
of a doubt that the autocrat of Russia, when he shall have attained 
to the plenitude of his power and dominion, is the subject of the 
prophecy contained in the thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth of Ezekiel. 
This personage at present is only " Autocrat of All the Russias,'' that 
is, of Ros, Mosc, and Tobl ; while the emperor of Austria holds the 
position of the Gogue of Magogue. But, as we have seen elsewhere, 
the Austrian and German empire is doomed to extinction by fire and 
sword; so that when this is broken up the Gogueship will be assumed 
by the autocrat, or " prince of Ros, Mosc, and Tobl." 

Having proved, as I think, that the phrase " Gogue of the land of 
Magogue" signifies Emperor of Germany, and that the particular 
emperor referred to will also be the " prince of Ros, Mosc, and 
Tobl" — that is, that at some time hereafter, and that not far off, 
Nicolas, or a successor, will be both Emperor of Germany and Auto- 
crat of All the Russias — I proceed to remark that, although the Son 
of Man is his conqueror, he is to be antagonized by another power 
before he comes to fight his last battle, in which he loses both his life 
and crown. According to Daniel, this enemy hails from the north 
and east of Judea, but he does not tell us his name. Ezekiel, how- 
ever, supplies the deficiency : he informs us that Gogue's earthly 
adversary occupies the countries of Sheba, Dedan, and Tarshish ; 
and that when the Autocrat (for Gogue is an autocrat, ruling by his 
own will) invades the Holy Land for the purpose of spoiling the Jews, 
the Lion-power of these countries assumes a threatening attitude, and 
dares him to execute his purpose. " Art thou come to take a spoil"? 
Hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey ?" Thus it speaks 
to Gogue : as much as to say, "Thou shaltnot spoil Israel and subdue 
their country, if we can help it." The prophet Daniel, however, 
shows that the only effect of these threatening tidings is to make him 
furious ; for he says, "Therefore shall he go forth with great fury to 
destroy, and utterly to make away many." But furious as Daniel re- 
presents him, Ezekiel testifies that he meets with one more potently 
furious than himself. But this is not the Lion-power of Tarshish, but 
the Lord God himself " whose fury comes up into his face," when he 
beholds the extortioner and spoiler * ravening upon his prey. The 
lion-and-merchant-power of Tarshish will not be permitted to usurp 
the glory of the Lion of the tribe of Judah. It is to the latter that 
Jehovah hath assigned the work of delivering his people from the 
destroyer. The Lion-power of Tarshish, which will possess Edom 
and Moab, and Ammon, as well as Sheba and Dedan, will be indeed 
a covert to Jehovah's outcasts; 1 and therefore will "Edom, and 
Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon escape out of his 
hand :" but it is only Michael the great prince, who commands the 
artillery of heaven, that can "break in pieces the oppressor." The 
men upon the face of the land shall shake at his presence; and the 
solid earth itself will be convulsed. He will turn their swords against 

1 Isaiah xvi. 4. 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 389 

themselves; and Judah shall fall irpon them, and augment the slain. 1 
Mutual slaughter and pestilence will be aggravated by terrors from 
above ; for " the Lord of hosts will visit them with thunder, and with 
earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest," 2 and "an 
overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. " s 
" Thus," saith he, " will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself ; and 
I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know 
that I (Jesus) am the Lord." 

But what is the lion-power of which Ezekiel speaks ? To ascertain 
this we must direct our attention to the countries named in connexion 
with " the young lions." Of these, Sheba and Dedan are districts of 
Arabia. The men of Dedan are in the list given by Ezekiel of the 
traders in the Tyrian fairs. The Dedanim carried thither the ivory 
and ebony which they procured from " the many isles" to the east- 
ward, and " precious clothes for chariots." Sheba carried the tl chief 
of all spices, precious stones, and gold." Dedan and Sheba were 
those parts of Arabia which lay convenient to the ivory, gold, precious 
stones, and spice countries of Africa and India. The Sultan of Mus- 
cat now rules the country of Dedan; while the British have planted 
their standard on the soil of Sheba, at Aden, the Gibraltar of the Red 
Sea, and key of Egypt. Victoria may therefore be said to be the 
Queen of Sheba, who may possibly live to lay her crown and trea- 
sures at the feet of the "greater than Solomon," and to fall back into 
the ranks of "the common people;" and, if not a prisoner of State,* 
to sink at least into an undistinguished member of the community. 
The British power, then, is the lion-power of Sheba. 

As to Tarshish, there were two countries of that name in the geo- 
graphy of the ancients. Jehoshaphat built ships at Eziongeber, a 
port of the Red Sea, that they might sail thence to Tarshish. Now 
it will be seen by the map that they could only sail southward to- 
wards the straits of Babelmandeb, from which they might then steer 
east, or north for India. As the}' did not sail by compass in those 
days, but coastwise, they would creep round the coast of Arabia, and 
so make for Hindostan. They might have sailed southward again 
along the coast of Africa instead of to India; but it is not likely they 
did, as the commerce of the time was with the civilized world, and 
not the savage. The voyage occupied them three years. In the days 
of Solomon the trade was shared between Israel and the Tvrians; for 
" he had at sea a navy of Tarshish with the navy of Hiram ; once in 
three years came the navy of Tarshish bringing gold and silver, ivory, 
and apes, and peacocks." These products point to India as the 
eastern Tarshish — a country which has always conferred maritime 
ascendancy on the power which has possessed its trade and been its 
carrier to the nations. 

But there was also a Tarshish to the north west of Judea. This 
appears in the case of Jonah, who embarked at Joppa, now Jaffa, on the 
Mediterranean, " to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord." 
It is evident he must, have sailed westward. It is not exactly known 
where the western Tarshish was situated. It was a country, however, 

• Zech. xiv. H. - Isaiah xxix. 5—8. » Ezek. xxxviii. 18-22. 4 Psalm cxlix, 8. 



390 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

not a city, whose " merchants" frequented the Tynan fairs. Address- 
ing Tyre, the prophet says, " Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of 
the multitude of all kinds of riches ; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, 
they traded in thy fairs." These metals are the products of Britain, 
celebrated by the Phoenicians as Baratanac, or " the land of tin/' as 
some construe it. The merchandise of the northern Tarshish, and of 
the eastern, identifies Britain and India with the two countries of that 
name j and Sheba and Tarshish in the prophecy of Gogue are mani- 
festly indicative of the Lion-power of the Anglo-Indian empire. 

But, in corroboration of this, I remark further, that the lion-power 
is represented also as a merchant power, in the words, "the Merchants 
of Tarshish shall say unto Gogue." Having ascertained the geography 
of Tarshish, it is easy to answer the question, Who are its merchants ? 
This inquiry will admit of but one answer, namely, the British East 
India Company, which is both the merchant and ruler of the ele- 
phant-tooth country of the east. But the association of " the young 
lions of Tarshish" with the" merchants of Tarshish," makes this still 
more obvious ; for it represents the peculiar constitution of the Anglo- 
Indian government. As every one knows, this government is neither 
purely a merchant-sovereignty, nor a purely imperial one like that of 
Canada, but a combination of the two. The Honorable Company 
has no power in Canada, but, with its imperial partner, the firm is 
omnipotent in India. Now the imperial member is represented in the 
prophet by "young lions:" that is, the lion is chosen to represent 
the imperial British power, as the Ram and the Goat, the self-chosen 
emblems of the nations, were adopted to symbolize that of the Per- 
sians and Macedonians. Young rams and young goats were civil 
and military officials under the ram and goat sovereignties; so also 
"young lions" are the same under the old Lion of England. This, 
the lion-power, is represented in the government of India by " the 
Board of Control," and the imperial forces which serve with the 
Company's troops in the Indian army. The merchants of Tarshish 
govern India under the control of the lion-power — a constitution of 
things well represented in the Company's arms, which are a shield 
whose quarterings are filled with young lions rampant, with the 
motto " Auspicio Senatus Anglice." From these facts, it may be 
concluded, that the united imperial power of Britain and merchant- 
power of India, is the power of the latter days, destined of God to 
contend with the Autocrat, when, having laid all Europe prostrate, 
his ambition prompts him to grasp the sceptre of the east. 

But the lion-power of Britain has not yet attained the limit marked 
out for it by the finger of God. The conquest of Persia by the 
Autocrat will doubtless cause England to conquer Affghanistan, and 
to seize upon Dedan that she may command the entrance to the Per- 
sian Gnlph, and so prevent him from obtaining access to India either 
by land or sea. Possessing Persia and Mesopotamia, the appre- 
hension of his pushing still further southward, and perhaps establish- 
ing himself on the north-eastern coast of the Red Sea, and so taking 
them in the rear and gaining access to India by the straits of Babel- 
mandeb, will also be a powerful motive for the merchants of Tarshish 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 391 

and its young lions to take possession of all the coast from the Gulph 
of Persia to the Straits, and thence to Suez, by which the lion-power 
will not only become the Sheba and Dedan, but also the Edom, 
Moab, and Amnion, of " the latter days f for in speaking of the 
events of these days, the prophets refer not to races of men, but to 
powers on territories designated by the names of the people who 
anciently inhabited them. Hence, for instance, the Lion-power 
planted hereafter in the ancient territory of Moab, becomes the Moab 
of the latter days ; so that when the countries before-named are 
possessed and settled by the British, they will be men of Dedan in 
Muscat, men of Sheba in Aden and Mocha, and Moabites, Edomites, 
and Ammonites in their several territories. Thus, the prophecies 
concerning those countries in their latter-day developments have 
regard to the power to which they then belong, and which, I have no 
doubt, will be the British ; which, together with the Autocrat's, 
though henceforth always rival dominions, will endure until both 
powers be broken up by the Ancient of Days. 

It may be as well in this place to recall the reader's attention 
briefly to the vision of the four Beasts. 1 The Lion, t\ie Bear, 
and the Leopard, the symbols of the Assyrian, the Persian, and of a 
greater dominion than that comprehended in the four heads of the 
Leopard, or horns of the Goat ; therefore, I will call it Alexandrine : 2 
these three Beasts are represented in the vision as outliving the 
destruction of the Fourth Beast, or Roman Dragon. Speaking of 
this, the prophet says, " I beheld till the beast was slain, and his body 
destroyed, and given to the burning flame." Having seen his violent 
death, he goes on to say, " As concerning the rest of the beasts they 
had their dominion taken away ; yet a prolonging in life was given 
them for a season and a time." The meaning of this is, that at the 
consummation of the judgment, the territories comprehended in the 
dominions of the four beasts to their full extent will be divided 
between two independent dominions of the Latter Days, namely, that 
of Gogue, and that of the Lion of Tarshish. Gogue's will include so 
much of the territory as to entitle his dominion to be represented by 
Nebuchadnezzar's Image. Assyria proper, Persia, Asia Minor, 
Armenia, and Mesopotamia; Egypt, Italy, Germany, Belgium, 
France, Spain, Portugal, Sardinia, Naples, Lombardy, Bavaria, 
Hungary, and Greece — countries all included in the catalogue given 
by Ezekiel in his prophecy of Gogue — are symbolized by the head, 
breast, body, thighs, legs, and toes of the Image. These are at the 
crisis united together in one dominion, w r hich is broken to pieces as 
the result of the battle of Armageddon. Gogue's yoke being broken 
off the neck of these nations, Assyria, and Persia resume their inde- 
pendence ; but they do riot retain it long ; for it is " taken away," 
yet they continue separate states for 1000 years, only ruled by the 
saints, whom the Lord may appoint over them. 

The Lion of Tarshish is Alexandrine in its dominion, and will then 
possess much of the territory represented by the Unicorn Goat and 
the Leopard, all indeed not included in the Image. Alexander the 

' Dan. vii. « Dan. xi. 4. 



392 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

Great extended his conquests over Afghanistan, the Punjaub, and 
into Tndia beyond the Indus. The Lion of Tarshish has already 
annexed much of his territory, indeed quite sufficient to confer upon 
it Unicorn and Leopard attributes. Its supremacy over the Ionian 
Republic still further approximates it to the Macedonian character ; 
which will become still more conspicuous, when it beholds "the prince 
of Ros, Mosc, and Tobl" possessed of Constantinople, and contend- 
ing for the Gogueship of Magogue ; it will then, doubtless, make 
extensive seizures of the isles of Greece, to strengthen itself in the 
Mediterranean, and to antagonise as much as possible the power 
of the Autocrat in that direction. Thus, then, answering to the 
Leopard of the latter days, the Lion of Tarshish survives the destruc- 
tion of the Image. But subsequent events will affect it in common 
with the Lion and the Bear ; for though it may, in alliance with 
Assyria, and Persia, hold out for a time against the Stone of* Israel, 
its " dominion will be taken away ;" for the kingdom he is to establish 
will " break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms ;" yet Assyria, 
Persia, and Britain will continue to exist as peoples for '* a season 
and a time," being subject and obedient to the King of Israel, in the 
light of whose government they will walk with joy, and lay their 
wealth and honor at his glorious feet. 



CHAPTER. VI. 

the restoration of Israel indispensable to the setting up of the kingdom of God — 
Israel to be grafted into their own olive on a principle of faith— Not by gentile 
agency, but by Jesus Christ, will God graft them in again — Britain, the protector 
of the Jews, as indicated by Isaiah xviii. — The British power in the south, the 
Moab, &c , of" the latter days" — The second exodus of Israel — The nations of the 
Image to be subdued by Israel to the dominion of their king — The New Covenant 
delivered to J udah and the kingdom of God setup in J udea— The returning 01 
the Ten Tribes to Canaan will occupy forty years— Elijah's mission— Israel re- 
assembled in Fgypt — They cross the Nile, and pass through the Red Sea, on foot — 
They march into Canaan, receive the New Covenant, and, re-united to Judah, 
form one nation and kingdom under Christ for 1,001) years— The blessedness of 
the nations, and their loyalty to Israel's king — Of the end of the thousand years — 
Chronology from the Creation to the end of the Melchizedec Kingdom. 



In the previous chapters the reader has been conducted to the crisis 
that awaits the world at the conclusion of the time of the end. The 
two great powers of the day — namely, Gogue, the lord of the earth, 
and the Lion of Tarshish, the king of the sea, have been brought up 
in battle array in I he region of the Dead Sea. This state of things 
will have been created by the angel of the sixth vial, whose province 
it is to gather the kings of the earth and of the whole habitable, 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 393 

with their armies, into the land of Israel, which is " the great wine- 
press of the wrath of God," 1 for a space of 200 miles. This will 
be brought about upon the same principles as the fulfilment of all 
other prophecies in ages past — namely, through the policy of " the 
powers that be," controlled by God. The insurrection of *' the saints" 
in 1848, has created the situation, in which the Roman question, the 
German question, and the Turco-Hungarian question, have become 
the elements of an inevitable war throughout Europe, which will ter- 
minate in the final destruction of the Austrian empire and the Papacy, 
and the subjection of the Porte and the toe-kingdoms to the Autocrat. 
But without some other element to complicate affairs, things might 
settle down into a mere substitution of one gigantic despotism for 
the many lesser ones that now exist. It is necessary, therefore, that 
some other ingredient be introduced into the mess, in order that the 
course of events may be directed into an eastern channel, by which 
the crisis may be transferred from Europe to the Holy Land. This 
political element is found in the commercial interests of Britain in 
India; in the importance of Syria, Palestine, and Egypt being in the 
possession of a friendly people to the preservation of those interests ; 
and in the policy of colonizing Palestine with Jews, and so attaching 
them to the interests of the country by which they are protected. 
Thus the ascendancy of the Autocrat in Constantinople and the West, 
by the jeopardy in which it puts the commerce and dominion of the 
Lion-power, excites the British government to the adoption of a policy 
which, in its application to emergencies as they arise, elaborates the 
restoration of the Jews, and the resuscitation of the east. 

The restoration of Israel is a most important feature in the divine 
economy. It is indispensable to the setting up of the kingdom of 
God; for they are the kingdom, having been constituted such by the 
covenant of Sinai, as it is wrirten, " Ye shall be unto me a kingdom 
of priests, and a holy nation." 8 The apostles understood this well 
enough, and so do all who understand the gospel of the kingdom. 
After his resurrection, Jesus conversed with them during forty days, 
" speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God." This 
was certainly long enough, under the instruction of such a teacher, 
to enable them to understand the subject well. It took possession of 
their minds and hearts, and created in them a desire for its immediate 
establishment. Hence, they put the question to him, saying, " Lord, 
wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?" 3 
It is evident from this that they regarded Israel as having once 
possessed the kingdom, and expected the same Israel 1o possess it 
again. No other meaning can be put upon their words ; for to re- 
store a thing "again" to a party implies that they had once possessed 
it before. When Israel had the kingdom, they were ruled by Israel- 
ites, and not by Gentiles, for a foreigner could hold no office under 
their law. This was not the case in the days of the apostles, for they 
were ruled by the Roman senate, and kings of its appointment. But 
it will not be so when the kingdom is restored to them again. The 
horns of the Gentiles will then be cast out of the land, and they will 

« Eev. x\y. 19, 20. > Exod. xix. 6. J Acts i. 3, 6. 



394 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

be ruled by " Israelites indeed," who will have become Jews by adop- 
tion ; for no Jews or Gentiles after the flesh, can have any part in 
the government of Israel and the Israelitish empire, which will em- 
brace all nations, unless their Jewish citizenship is based upon a 
higher principle than natural birth. The flesh constitutes a Jew a sub- 
ject of the kingdom, but confers on him no right to sit and rule upon 
the thrones of the house of David. This is reserved for Christ, and 
his apostles, who " shall sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve 
tribes of Israel," when he sits upon the throne of his glory ; and for 
all other Jews and Gentiles, w r ho shall have become " Jews inwardly" 
for whom the dominion under the whole heaven is decreed in the 
benevolence of God. 

There are several strange fancies in the world concerning the 
restoration of the Jews. Some deny it in toto, and yet impose upon 
themselves the imagination that they believe the gospel of the king- 
dom ! If any such have followed me through this work, they will, 
I think, long since have concluded that they have been in error. 
Others advance a little further, and regard it as an " open question * 
— a position that may be disputed, but for which more may be said 
than against it, but concerning which they are not able to decide. 
This is tantamount to saying that the gospel is an open question, and 
that they really cannot say whether the kingdom of God will have 
subjects, or not. There are others who believe that Israel will 
certainly be restored, but they clog it with a condition which in effect 
makes its fulfilment impossible, or eternally remote. They tell us 
that they will not be restored until they are converted to Christianity ! 
By Christianity they mean the inanity preached from the " sacred 
desks " of the apostacy — the pulpit-gospels of the day ; " for," say 
they, " if they abide not in unbelief they shall be grafted into their 
own olive again." This is quite true ; but the fallacy consists in 
construing this to mean, that their restoration is predicated on their 
believing what the Gentiles teach. The Gentiles themselves are in 
unbelief. How, then, can they convert the Jews ? " Because of 
unbelief they were broken off, and thou Gentile standest by faith. 
Be not high-minded, but fear : for if God spared not the natural 
branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee ;" for " thou also shalt 
be cut off if thou continue not in his goodness." 1 Both Jews and 
Gentiles are faithless in the gospel of the kingdom in the name 
of Jesus. The Jews believe one part of it, and the Gentiles another 
part of it, but even these several parts they adulterate with so many 
traditions, that neither Jews nor Gentiles believe anything as they 
ought. Therefore, as he broke off Israel by the instrumentality 
of the Romans, so he is now about to break off the Gentiles by the 
judgments soon to be poured out upon them. 

The work of grafting Israel into their own olive belongs to God, 
who, as the scripture saith, " is able to graft them in again." No 
one, I presume, will dispute his ability. As I have shown elsewhere, 
he has assigned the work of restoration to the Lord Jesus, who will 
graft them in again upon a principle of faith. He will bring their 

' Rom. xi. 20—28. 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. S95 

unbelief to an end in a way peculiar to the emergency of the case*. 
When the fulness of the Gentiles is come in, then Israel's blindness 
will be done away. 

The restoration of the Jews is a work of time, and will require 
between fifty and sixty years to accomplish. When Gogue comes to 
be lord of Europe, like Pharaoh of old, he will not permit Israel to 
remove themselves and their wealth beyond his reach. His dominion 
must, therefore, be broken before the north will obey the command 
to " give up/' and the south to " keep not back ;" and even then 
Israel must fight their way to Palestine as in the days of old. The 
truth is, there are two stages in the restoration of the Jews, the first 
is before the battle of Armageddon ; and the second, after it ; but 
both pre-millennial. God has said, " I will save the tents of Judah 
first." This is the first stage of restoration. Jesus has already been 
" a stone of stumbling and rock of offence " to Judah and his com- 
panions for 40 years, that is, from the day of Pentecost to the 
destruction of the temple, so that they need not to be subjected to a 
like process any more. But the word saith, " He shall be a stone 
of stumbling and rock of offence to both the houses of Israel ;" 1 now 
it is well known that this has not been fulfilled in relation to the 
ten tribes. They did not inhabit Canaan at the time Jesus sojourned 
and ministered there. The gospel of the kingdom has never been 
preached to them in his name ; hence, they are only acquainted with 
him as they have heard of him by the report of Jesuits, and the 
priests of Gentile superstitions — a report which is incapable of making 
men responsible for not believing. It remains, then, after Judah's 
tents are saved, to make use of them as apostles to their brethren 
of the other tribes, to preach to them a word from Jerusalem, 2 
inviting them to come out from the nations, and to rendezvous in 
" the wilderness of the people," preparatory to a return to a land 
flowing with milk and honey, in which Judah is dwelling safely 
under the sceptre of the Seed promised to their fathers. Judah's 
submission to the Lord Jesus, as the result of seeing him, will give 
them no right to eternal life, or to the glory and honor of the king- 
dom. It just intitles them to the blessedness of living in the land 
under the government of Messiah and the saints. So with the Ten 
Tribes ; fheir faith in the word preached will intitle them to no more 
than an union into one kingdom and nation with Judah; and a par- 
ticipation in the blessings of Shiloh's reign during their natural lives. 
If any of them attain to eternal life and glory, it will be predicated on 
some other premises than those which precede their restoration. 

There is, then, a partial and primary restoration of the Jews before 
the advent of Christ, which is to serve as the nucleus, or basis, of 
future operations in the restoration of the rest of the tribes after he 
has appeared in the kingdom. The pre-adventual colonisation 
of Palestine will be on purely political principles ; and the Jewish 
colonists will return in unbelief of the Messiaship of Jesus, and of 
the truth as it is in him. They will emigrate thither as agriculturists 
and traders, in the hope of ultimately establishing their common- 

1 Isaiah viii. 14. ' Isaiah ii. 2. 



396 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

wealth, but more immediately of getting rich in silver and gold by 
commerce with India, and in cattle and goods by their industry at 
home under the efficient protection of the British power. And this 
their expectation will not be deceived ; for, before Gogue invades 
their country, it is described by the prophet, as " a land of unwalled 
villages, whose inhabitants are at rest, and dwell safely, all of them 
dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates; and pos- 
sessed of silver and gold, cattle and goods, dwelling in the midst of 
the land." * Now any person acquainted with the present insecure 
condition of Palestine under the Ottoman dominion must be satisfied 
from the testimony, that some other power friendly to Israel must 
then have become paramount over the land, which is able to guarantee 
protection to them, and to put the surrounding tribes in fear. This 
is all that is needed, namely, security for life and property, and 
Palestine would be as eligible for Jewish emigration as the United 
States have proved for the Gentiles. 

But to what part of the world shall we look for a power whose 
interests will make it willing as it is able to plant the ensign of civili- 
zation upon the mountains of Israel ? The reader will, doubtless, 
anticipate my reply from what has gone before. I know not whether 
the men, who at present contrive the foreign policy of Britain, enter- 
tain the idea of assuming the sovereignty of the Holy Land, and 
of promoting its colonization by the Jews ; their present intentions, 
however, are of no importance one way or the other ; because they 
will be compelled, by events soon to happen, to do what, under exist- 
ing circumstances, heaven and earth combined could not move them 
to attempt. The present decisions of " statesmen " are destitute of 
stability. A shooting star in the political firmament is sufficient to 
disturb all the forces of their system ; and to stultify all the theories 
of their political astronomy. The finger of God has indicated a 
course to be pursued by Britain which cannot be evaded, and which 
her counsellors will not only be willing, but eager, to adopt when the 
crisis comes upon them. 

The decree has long since gone forth which calls upon the Lion of 
Tarshish to protect the Jews. Upwards of a thousand years before 
the British were a nation, the prophet addresses them as the power 
which at " evening -tide" should interest themselves in behalf of 
Israel. In view of this, " the time of the end," he says, " The nations 
shall rush like the rushing of many waters : but God shall rebuke 
them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of 
the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the 
whirlwind ;" or, as it is expressed by another, u and they became like 
the chaff of the summer threshing-floors ; and the wind carried them 
away, that no place was found for them:" 2 "behold," says the 
former prophet, concerning Israel at this time, " at evening-tide 
trouble ; and before the morning he is not. This is the portion of 
them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us " 3 — referring, 
doubtless, to the overthrow and destruction of Gogue. Now, the 
invasion of their country by a spoiler at " evening-tide," who robs 

' Ezek. xxxviii. II, 12 13. 3 Dan. ii. 85. 3 Isaiah XYii. 18. 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 397 

them, implies their previous return. This primary restoration Isaiah 
styles, " a present unto the Lord of hosts of a people scattered and 
peeled ;" for, speaking of " the time of the end," he says, " In that 
time shall the present be brought unto the Lord of hosts of a people 
scattered and peeled * * * to the place of the name of the Lord 
of Hosts, the Mount Zion." l But, then, the question returns upon 
us, by whom is the present to be made ? The prophet answers this 
question in the first verse, saying, " Ho ! to the land shadowing with 
wings, which is beyond the rivers of Khush : that sendeth ambassa- 
dors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, Go, ye 
swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible 
from their begrinnino; hitherto : a nation meted out and trodden down, 
whose land the rivers (invading armies 2 ) have spoiled/' Now, the 
geography of this passage points to the Lion-power of Tarshish as to 
" the land shadowing with wings." Taking Judea, where the predic- 
tion was delivered, as the place of departure, the word "beyond" 
points to the east ; that is, running a line from Judea across the 
Euphrates and Tigris, " the rivers of Khushistan," it passes into 
Hindostan, where " the Merchants of Tarshish, and its young lions," 
rule the land. But the British power is still further indicated by the 
insular position of its seat of government ; for the " sending of 
ambassadors by the sea " implies that the shadowing power is an 
island-state. Ambassadors are sent from the residence of the Court, 
and if they proceed to their destination by sea, the throne of the 
power must be located in an island. The text, therefore, points to 
the north and east, to England and Hindostan, as the land shadowing 
Israel with its wings. To Britain, then, the prophet calls as the pro- 
tector of the Jewish nation in the evening-tide trouble, and com- 
mands it to send its messengers in swift vessels because the crisis is 
urgent, and to plant Israel as "an ensign upon the mountains ;" 3 as 
it is written in another place, saying, "The Lord shall set an ensign 
for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather 
together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth." 4 
When this is accomplished to the required extent it becomes a notable 
sign of the times. It will then be seen that the political Euphrates 
is evaporated to dryness, and that Israel is walking in the way of the 
kings of the east. In view of this, the prophet addresses mankind, say- 
ing, " All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, 
see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains ; and when he 
bloweth a trumpet, hear ye." The ensign being planted on the 
mountains of Israel by Britain, the Lord will cause the Assyrian 
Autocrat to " blow a trumpet," summoning the hosts of his nations 
to war ; for he has said, " I will bring thee, O Gogue, against my 
land." They will " ascend and come like a storm from the north 
parts, and be like a cloud to cover the land :" 5 but " they shall be 
left together unto the fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the 
earth ; and the fowls shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the 
earth shall winter upon them," for their carcasses will lie exposed for 
"seven months" upon the field. 6 Then shall "the present" be 

• Isai. xviii. 7. 'Isai. viii. 7. 3 Isai. xviii. 3. < Isai. xi. 12. » Ezek. xxxviii.0, 15. 6 Ezek.xxxJx.l4. 



H98 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

brought in full of all the tribes of Israel not previously assembled by 
" the land shadowing with wings." 

But from the subjugation of the Jews for a short time after they 
have been restored, the protection of the shadowing-power would 
seem to have been inefficient. So it will as far as the mountainous 
parts of the land are concerned ; but, then, it is testified by Daniel, 
that " Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon, 
shall escape out of the hand of the king of the north." These 
countries will be a place of refuge for those who fly from the face 
of the spoiler, as Turkey has recently been for the Hungarians, who 
have fled from the same power. The Lion-power of Tarshish being 
in military occupation of the countries that escape, is enabled to con- 
tinue their protection efficiently. Hence, the prophet addresses it, 
saying, " Take counsel, execute judgment ; make thy shadows as the 
night in the midst of the noon-day ; hide the outcasts ; bewray not 
him that wandereth. Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab ; be 
thou a covert to them from the face of the Spoiler." The context 
shows that this has reference to a future time ; for, having shadowed 
them from the spoiler, who, during their coverture in Moab, has met 
with his overthrow at the hand of Michael, the great Prince of Israel, 
— the prophet goes on to announce the good news, saying, " The 
extortioner is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the oppressors are con- 
sumed out of the land." This cannot be said of any period of Jew- 
ish history since the prophecy was delivered ; nor can it be said of 
the land in its present state, for the extortioner and oppressor still 
keeps it in subjection. But what follows shows conclusively, that 
the time referred to is yet future ; for, as soon as the deliverance of 
the land is declared, and the spoiler is no more, the prophet directs 
the reader's attention to the setting up of the kingdom, as the next 
event to come to pass, saying in these words, " In mercy shall the 
throne be established : and He shall sit upon it in truth in the taber- 
nacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting 
righteousness." * But Moab's population is vanished, and the country 
a mere wilderness, whose solitude is only disturbed by the howl of 
beasts, or the occasional tramp of the Bedouins. For Moab, there* 
fore, to respond to the prophetic exhortation, a power must take 
possession of the country capable of outstretching its wings for the 
defence of a people, " whose land the rivers have spoiled," and that 
power, I believe, is Britain's, the Moab of the latter days. 

As I have said elsewhere, the Lion-power will not interest itself 
in behalf of the subjects of God's kingdom, from pure generosity, 
piety towards God, or love of Israel ; but upon the principles which 
actuate all the governments of the world — upon those, namely, of the 
lust of dominion, self-preservation, and self-aggrandizement. God, 
who rules the world, and marks out the bounds of habitation for the 
nations, will make Britain a gainer by the transaction. He will 
bring her rulers to see the desirableness of Egypt, Ethiopia, and 
Seba, which they will be induced, by the force of circumstances, 
probably, to take possession of. They will, however, before the 

1 Isaiah xvi. 8— 6. J»r. xxlii.5; xxxiii. 14— 17. 



IK THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF 0©B. 399 

battle of Armageddon, be compelled to retreat from Egypt and 
Ethiopia ; for " the king of the north shall stretch forth his hand 
upon the land of Egypt, which shall not escape; and the Libyans 
and Ethiopians shall be at his steps." Hence, these will become the 
battle-ground for a time, until the seat of war is removed to the 
mountains of Israel, where, by the Autocrat's discomfiture, the war 
is brought to an end between the image-giant of Assyria and the 
Lion of the north and east. 

The possession, or ascendancy of Britain in Egypt, Ethiopia, and 
Seba, will naturally lead to the colonization of Palestine by the Jews. 
Thus the proverb will be verified which saith, "The wicked shall be a, 
ransom for the righteous, and the transgressor for the upright." 
Though generations of the Jews have been " stiff-necked and per- 
verse," yet their nation is a " holy nation," which other nations are 
not, inasmuch as Israel is the only nation God has separated to him- 
self for a peculiar people. In view of what I have been presenting, 
Jehovah saith to them, " Fear not, O Israel ; for I have redeemed 
thee : I have called thee by thy name : thou art mine. When thou 
passest through the waters, I will be with thee ; and through the 
rivers, they shall not overflow thee ; when thou walkest through the 
fire, thou shalt not be burned ; neither shall the flame kindle upon 
thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy 
Saviour; I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. 
Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honorable, and 
I have loved thee; therefore will I give men for thee, and people for 
thy life. Fear not ; for I am with thee : I will bring thy seed from 
the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, 
Give up ; and to the south, Keep not back : bring my sons from far, 
and my daughters from the ends of the earth ; even every one that is 
called by my name : for I have created Israel for my glory, I have 
formed him ;- yea, I have made him." 2 Thus the Lord disposes of 
nations and countries as it pleases him. To " the land shadowing 
with wings," which shall proclaim their return to the dust of their 
fathers, he will give Egypt, Ethiopia, and Seba as their ransom ; and 
enable them, through its power, " to lay their hands upon Edom and 
Moab ;" and to obtain the ascendancy over " the children of Amraon." 
Thus they will settle in these countries of the Red Sea ; to which they 
will be attracted by the riches to be acquired through their connexion 
with the commerce of the east; which will then resume its channel 
of the olden time, when Israel and the British, like Solomon's ser- 
vants and the men of Tyre, will drive a thriving trade between the 
Indian and China seas, and the nations of the west. 

Having thus brought my exposition of the sure prophetic word 
down to the termination of "the time of the end," I shall conclude my 
interpretations by exhibiting the truth revealed concerning the things 
of the transition period during which the God of heaven is setting 
up his kingdom, and breaking in pieces and consuming all the king- 
doms of the world, and transferring their glory, honor, and dominion 

' Isaiah xliii. 1—7, 



400 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

under the whole heaven to the saints of the Most High. These 
matters will be set forth in brief under tJis caption of 

THE SECOND EXOtUS. 

When the Lord has " broken to pieces together" all the parts of 
Nebuchadnezzar's Image — that is, destroyed that power which boued 
them all together as one dominion — the work next to be accomplished 
in relation to them is to subdue the gold, the silver, the brass, the 
iron, and the clay — in other words, the powers represented by them-— 
that they may become "like the chaff of the summer threshing- 
floors ;" so that, being carried away by the tempest of war, «< no 
place may be found for them," and the subjugating power become 
as " a great mountain, and fill the whole earth." 

But a question arises here which must be answered, or our expo- 
sition is at fault, and deficient of a very important link in the chain 
of testimony which connects the kingdom of God with the foundation 
of the world. It is, By what means are " the kingdoms of the 
world to become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ" after 
he has dissolved the imperial bond of union among them by the glo- 
rious victory of Armageddon ? Is it to be accomplished by sending 
missionaries of the tribe of Judah to the nations, preaching to them 
salvation from hell by Jesus Christ, as missionaries are now doing 
among the heathen, and inviting them to submit to the spiritual 
authority of the Lord administered through men of like passions 
with themselves? Or is it to be brought about by burning up the 
wicked, and /eaving none but the righteous to inherit the earth ? Or 
are the existing orders of bishops, priests, ministers, and missionaries 
to be employed to bring the nations to, the obedience of faith, that 
they may voluntarily surrender all political power into their hands, as 
the saints of the Most High God ? I answer unhesitatingly, that the 
conversion of the world to Christ's supremacy will be accomplished 
by no such fantastical schemes as are implied in these suppositions. 
The answer to the question is, that the nations will be subdued to the 
sceptre of Shiloh by the sword, and that the tribes of Israel will be 
his soldiers in the war. Besides punishing them for their idolatry, 
and subsequent unbelief of the gospel of the kingdom preached to 
Judah in the name of Jesus, Israel has been also scattered among all 
nations, that they may be ready for the work assigned them in " the 
time of trouble" which intervenes between the battle of Armageddon, 
and their final and complete restoration at the end of forty years. 
Though the dominion of Gogue be broken, the kingdoms and states 
which acknowledged him as their imperial chief will not voluntarily 
surrender themselves to another lord, any more than the populations 
of the old Assyrian empire did when the power of Sennacherib was 
broken in one night. The effect of his overthrow was only to pre- 
pare them for subjection to a more civilized and powerful ruler. In 
this case, the Lord used the Chaldeans for their subjugation : but in 
the cominjr strife he will use the tribes of Israel. 



JN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 401 

The Lord Jesus Christ at his appearing in his kingdom finds Judah 
inhabiting the land. Not all the Jews, but a goodly number of them. 
Having gained the victory of Armageddon, he convenes the elders of 
the people, which as their deliverer he has a right to do. Thus 
*' they look upon him whom they have pierced;" 1 "and one shall 
say unto him, What are these wounds in thy hands ? Then he shall 
answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my 
friends." 2 The effect of this information upon the people is to cause 
a national lamentation. They will then discover that He to whom 
they owe their deliverance from Gogue is Jesus of Nazareth, whom 
their fathers crucified. They will therefore " mourn for him as one 
mourneth for his only son, and will be in bitterness for him, as one 
that is in bitterness for his first-born. In that day, there will be a 
great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in 
the valley of Megiddo." 3 Two-thirds of the people will have been 
cut off by the war against Gogue, and the third which survives will 
have passed through a fiery ordeal. It will have been a refining 
process in which they will have been refined like silver, and tried as 
gold is tried. Thus prepared, " a spirit of grace and of supplications'' 
will be poured upon them, and they will call on the name of the 
Lord, and he will hear them," 4 and open for them a fountain for sin 
and for uncleanness. 5 He will say, ' ; It is my people : and they 
shall say, The Lord (even Jesus) is my God." 6 Thus will Judah be 
grafted again into their own olive, and brought to acknowledge 
Jesus as King of the Jews, and to confess that a he is Lord to the 
glory of God the Father." 

The New Covenant being made with the house of Judah, the 
kingdom is established. Not, however, to its full extent. It is but 
the kingdom in its small beginning, as when David reigned in 
Hebron over Judah only. The Lord Jesus, as King of Judah, will 
have to bring the ten tribes and the nations generally to acknowledge 
him as King of Israel and Lord of the whole earth. What would 
the reader think of the little kingdom of Greece undertaking to sub- 
due the whole world to the sovereignty of Otho ? Yet when the 
Lord appeal's in his little kingdom of Judea, he will undertake to 
deliver every Israelite in bondage, establish David's kingdom to its 
full extent, overturn all kingdoms and dominions among the Gentiles, 
abolish all their superstitions, enlighten them in the truth, and bring 
them to submit to him joyfully as their lawgiver, high priest, and 
king. He will begin this mighty enterprize with Judah ; for "he 
hath made them as his goodly horse in the battle. And they shall be 
as mighty men, which tread down their enemies in the mire of the 
streets in the battle : and they shall fight, because the Loi'd is with 
them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded." 7 " And the 
governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jeru- 
salem shall be my strength in the Lord of hosts their God. In that 
day," saith the Lord, " I will make the governors of Judah like a 
hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; 

" Zech. xii. ID. 2 Zech.xiii 6. 3 Zech. xii.10— 14; Rev. j. 7. * Zech. xiii 9; s ver. 1; « ver. 9. 

1 Zech. x. 3—6. 

C C 



402 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

and they shall devour all the people round about, on the light hand 
and on the left.'^ ' Such is the illustration of their prowess. The 
nations will be as wood, or as sheaves, subjected to the action of fire. 
They may resist, but they are as certain of being subdued without 
further power of resistance as a lighted torch thrust into a sheaf of 
grain is of consuming it so that nothing be left. " They shall tread 
down the wicked; fcr they shall be ashes under the soles of their 
feet." 2 Their conquests will begin with the countries contiguous to 
Judea. For when the Assyrian shall invade their land, the Judge of 
Israel having caused him to fall, " Judah shall waste the land of 
Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances 
thereof: thus shall he" that is to be ruler in Israel " deliver them 
from the Assyrian when he cometh into their land, and when he 
treadeth within their borders. And the remnant of Jacob shall be 
in the midst of many people as a dew from the Lord." 3 

Having thus conquered the land which God promised to Abraham 
and his seed for an everlasting possession, and made Judah as a bent 
bow in the hand of the king, the next thing is for the Lord to fill it 
with Ephraim as his arrow-headed weapon of war. 4 In other 
words, "the Lord will seek to destroy all the nations that came 
against Jerusalem " 5 under the banner of Gogue ; and to accomplish 
this so as at the same time to bring back the ten tribes to the land of 
Canaan, he will cause Judah to make war upon Greece, and blow 
the trumpet to war against the ten kingdoms of the habitable, and the 
populations of the west among whom " the remnant of Jacob" is 
dispersed. These scattered tribes will have been "hissed for" or in- 
vited to leave the lands of their oppressors, and to make common 
cause with Judah. They will respond to the invitation; and as 
" the arrow of the Lord they will go forth as lightning ; and they 
shall devour and subdue." 6 " And they shall be like a mighty man, 
and their heart shall rejoice as through wine. And I will bring 
them, saith the Lord, a.gain also out of the land of Egypt, and gather 
them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead 
and Lebanon ; and Ephraim shall pass through the sea with affliction 
and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the river 
shall dry up : and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down ; 
and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart away." 1 

Let us, then, attend more particularly now to the relation subsisting 
between the king of Israel and his ten tribes, designated as "Ephraim," 
and " the remnant of Jacob" in the word. Addressing them, the 
Lord says by the prophet, '* Thou art my battle-axe and weapons of 
war ; for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee 
will I destroy kingdoms : with thee will I break in pieces captains 
and rulers." 8 This has never been the case since the prophecy was 
delivered ; it remains, therefore, to be fulfilled. With Judah as his 
goodly war horse and well-strung bow, filled with the Ephraim- 
■arrow, and wielding the Israel-battle-axe, " the Lord will go forth 
with the whirlwinds of the south." "The remnant of Jacob will'* 

Zech. xi?. 8. ' Mai. iv. 8. • Mic. iv. 1—7. « Zech. ix. 12—16. « Zech. x.i. 0. 
« Zech.ix. 12- 16. » Zech. x. 7 -11 ; Isaiah xi. 15, 10. • Jer. li. 20— 23. 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 403 

then " be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion 
among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of 
sheep : who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in 
pieces, and none can deliver. " By such a weapon as this, the Lord 
will " execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as 
they have not heard." 1 

But, I have said, that this belligerent state of things between the 
King of Israel and the nations of Gogue's dominion, styled " the 
goats" will continue for forty years. The subjugation will be gradual 
as Israel is made to " go through " from kingdom to kingdom. 
" Feed thy people," saith the prophet, " with thy rod, the flock of 
thy heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood j let them feed in 
Bashan and Gilead as in the days of old." In answer to this peti- 
tion, the Lord replies, " According to the days of thy coining out 
of the land of Ifyypt will I show unto him (Israel) marvellous 
things." This is forty years ; for so long were they in passing from 
Egypt to Canaan, which was the type of their coming out from 
among the nations to the holy land under the generalship of Elijah, 
the Lord's harbinger, to the Ten Tribes. The " marvellous things " 
to be shown them will not be performed in private, but will be as 
notorious as the plagues of Egypt; for " the nations shall see and be 
confounded at all their might : they shall lay their hand upon their 
mouth, their ears shall be deaf. They shall lick the dust like a ser- 
pent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth ; 
they shall be afraid of the Lord the God of Israel, and shall fear 
because of thee." 2 

The more immediate consequence of these extirminating wars will 
be the cessation of all further resistance in the north, which will have 
been thus compelled to " give up " the Israelites among them, and to 
let them go and serve in " the wilderness of the people." They will 
not march directly into the Holy Land, because the generation of 
Israelites who leave the north, will be no more fit for immediate 
settlement there than their fathers were who left Egypt under Moses. 
They would be as rebellious under the government of Shiloh as that 
generation whose carcasses fell in the wilderness, and concerning 
whom " Jehovah sware in his wrath that they should not enter into 
his rest." They must, therefore, be subjected to discipline, and 
trained up under the divine admonition. But, notwithstanding all 
the " marvellous things " they will have witnessed, they will prove 
themselves true to the character of their fathers, who were stiff-necked 
and perverse, and resistant always of the spirit of God ; so that they 
will not be permitted to enter into the land of Israel. Their children, 
however, will come thither from " the land of the enemy," and attain 
to their, own border. 3 The reader will, doubtless, desire to know 
tpon what ground I affirm these things. This is as it ought to be ; 
for he should set his face like a flint, and refuse credence to any thins: 
and every thing which is not sustained by " the testimony of God." 
Turn, then, to the prophet Ezekiel, where it is thus written, " As I 
live, saith the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand, and with a 

' Mic. v. 8, 15. « Mic vii. 14— 17, 3 Jer. xxxi. 15-17. 

cc2 



404 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you: 
and I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out 
of the countries wherein ye are scattered with a mighty hand, and 
with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out. And I will 
bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead 
with you fare to face ; like as I pleaded with your fathers in the 
wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the 
Lord God. And I will cause you to pass under the rod ; and will 
bring you into a delivering of the covenant : and I will purge out 
from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me : I 
will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they 
shall not enter into the land of Israel : and ye shall know that I am 
the Lord." x While they are in this wilderness it is, that the Lord 
Jesus becomes "a stone of stumbling and rock of offence to the 
house of Israel," as he had before been to Judah; and the consequence 
is, that "the rebels among them" are excluded from the blessings of 
Shuoh's government, and eternal life and glory in the then world to 
come. Nothing can be plainer than Ezekiel's testimony. If the 
reader know how the Lord pleaded with Israel face to face in the 
wilderness by the hand of Moses, he will well understand the ordeal 
that yet awaits the tribes to qualify them for admission into the Holy 
Land. The Lord's power and the angel were with them in the 
wilderness of Arabia, but they saw not his person ; so, I judge, will 
the Lord Jesus and some of the saints be with Israel in their Second 
Exodus, seen perhaps by their leaders, as the Elohim were by Moses, 
Aaron, the elders, and by Joshua ; but not visible to the multitude of 
the people, who must walk by faith and not by sight ; for, though 
God is able to graft them in again, he can only do it upon a principle 
of faith ; for the condition of their restoration laid down in his word 
is, " if they abide not in unbelief they shall be grafted in again." It 
would seem from the testimony of Malachi, who prophesied concern- 
ing the ten tribes, that while they are in the wilderness of the people 
they will be disciplined by the law of Moses as their national code, 
while things concerning Jesus will be propounded to them as matter 
of faith ; for it is testified by Hosea that they shall be gathered, and 
" shall sorrow a little for the burden of the King of princes." 2 The 
person with whom they will have more immediately to do in their 
second exodus is Elijah. There would seem to be a fitness in this. 
In the days of their fathers, when they forsook the Lord and abolished 
the law of Moses, Elijah was the person whose ministerial life was 
occupied in endeavoring to " restore all things." Though he did 
much to vindicate the name and law of Jehovah, he was taken away 
in the midst of his labors. For what purpose ? That he might at a 
future period resume his work and perfect it by restoring all things 
among the ten tribes according to the law of Moses, preparatory to 
their being planted in their land under a new covenant to be made 
with them there. 3 But it may be objected, that Elijah has come 
already, and that John the baptist was he. 4 True, in a certain sense 
he was. John was Elijah to the house of Judah in the sense of his 

1 Ezek. xx. 3S-S6. * H os. viii. 10, » Mai. ir. 4- «3; Jcr. xxxi. 31. * Luke i. 17. 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 405 

having come "in the spirit and power of Elijah." l But John was 
not the Elijah who talked with Moses on the Mount of Trans- 
figuration. The latter is Elijah to the house of Israel. The scribes 
taught that Elijah must precede Christ ; which Jesus approved, say- 
ing, "Elijah truly shall first come, and restore all things." He said 
this after John was put to death. John did not restore all things ; 
but Elijah will, and that too before the Lord Jesus makes himself 
known to the ten tribes, whom he will meet in Egypt. 

The period of Israel's probation drawing to a close, they will have 
advanced as far as Egypt on their return to Canaan, as it is written, 
" They shall return to Egypt." 2 This is necessary, for it is written 
also in more senses than one, " Out of Egypt have I called my son." 
As they are to be gathered from the west, north, and east, they will 
have gone through the countries by a circuitous route to Egypt. 
They are to be gathered from Assyria, or the countries of Gogue's 
dominion ; but I have not yet discovered in the word the line of 
march they are to follow in arriving at Egypt. But that they are to 
be assembled there is certain ; for it is written, " I will bring them 
again also out of the land of Egypt." This was spoken some two 
hundred years after the overthrow of Samaria j and it is indisputable 
that neither Israel nor Judah have been again brought out of Egypt 
to inhabit their land : the exodus from Egypt is therefore still in the 
future. But in coming out of Egypt they will have to cross both 
the Nile and the Red Sea; and although their march thither will 
have been one of conquest, it will not have been unattended with 
defeat, because of their own rebelliousness. The hearts of their 
enemies will be hardened to their own destruction to the last conflict. 
The south will still be disposed to "keep back" Israel from their 
country. Therefore, in leaving Egypt, " Ephraim shall pass through 
the sea with affliction, and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all 
tne deeps of the river shall dry up: and the pride of Assyria shall 
be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart away." 3 
The combined forces of Egypt and Assyria shall be broken as the 
hosts of Pharoah, and the horse and his rider be drowned in the 
dfepths of the sea. For " the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of 
the Egyptian sea ; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand 
over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make 
(Israel) go over dry shod . . . like as it was to Israel in the day that 
he came up out of the land of Egypt." 4 

They will now sing the song of Moses, and the song of the Lamb, 
who will have given them such a mighty deliverance from all their 
enemies. Being now " the ransomed of the Lord, they shall return, 
and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads. 1 ' 
The prophet "like unto Moses," mightier than Joshua, and " greater 
than Solomon," will conduct them into the Holy Land ; and, having 
delivered to them the New Covenant, will "settle them after their old 
estates." Having " wrought with them for his own name's sake," 
and by them as his "battle-axe and weapons of war," subdued the 
nations, and brought them to his holy mountain, he will "accept 

» Luke :. 17. ' Hos. viii. 13. 3 Zech. x. 10, 11. Isaiah xi. 15, 16. 



406 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLX 

them there," and "there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in 
the land," as one nation and one kingdom under Shiloh, " serve the 
Lord God." 1 

Thus in forty years the little kingdom of Judea will have become 
"a great mountain," or empire, "filling the whole earth." Accord- 
ing to my annexed chronology the world will then be 5993 years 
and nine months old ; that is, 4085 and nine months to the birth 
of Christ, three years and eight months before the vulgar era, 
which must be added to the two periods 1865 and 40, which 
altogether yield 5993 years, from the birth of Adam on 
the sixth day, to the morning of the Seventh Day of 1000 
years' duration. The " Economy of the Fulness of Times" will now 
have fairly commenced, and the Day of Christ in all the glory of 
the Sun of Righteousness have opened in all its blessedness upon the 
nations of the earth. The gospel preached to Abraham, saying, " In 
thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed," will be a reality. 
The Lord, with Judah as his bended bow and Israel for his arrow, 
having subdued the nations, and " bound their kings with chains, and 
their nobles with fetters of iron" as his conquests progressed, will have 
transferred their much-abused power to his saints, 2 who shall rule 
them with a rod of iron which cannot be broken. Having received 
his law, 3 and experienced the justice of its administration, "all 
nations will call him blessed," and "daily will he be praised." An 
universal jubilee will celebrate the admiration of mankind, and their 
devotion to the King of all the earth. The world will no more re- 
sound with wars' alarms for a thousand years; and among the 
highest there will be glory to God, on the earth there will be peace, 
and good-will among men. 4 The mission of the Lord's Christ will 
have been gloriously fulfilled. He will have raised up the tribes of 
Jacob, restored the preserved of Israel, and been the salvation of 
Jehovah to the ends of the earth. 5 In his days there will be 
abundance of peace ; for the nations will beat their swords into 
ploughshares, and their spears into scythes, and practise war no 
more. il At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the 
Lord ; and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the 
Lord, to Jerusalem" as the metropolis of the world : U neither shall 
they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart." 6 
The things they now delight in will then be an abomination to them ; 
for " the Gentiles shall come unto the Lord from the ends of the 
earth, and shall say r , Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, 
and things in which there is no profit.'" 1 When enlightened by the 
Lord this will be their judgment of the " names and denominations," 
pagan«, mohammedan, papal, and protestant, which now as a covering 
vail spread over all nations, 8 darken their understandings, and alienate 
them from the life of God. But when the King of Israel and his 
faints shall rule the world, all these superstitions will be for ever, 
abolished, and mankind will be of one faith and practice. They will 
speak one religious language, and serve Jehovah with unanimity ; 

» Ezek. xxxvii. 21—28; xx. 40; xxxir. 22- SI. s Rev. ii. 26, 27. 3 Isaiah xlii. 4. * Luke ii. 14, 
5 Isaiah xlix. 6. 6 Jer. iii. 17. » Jer. xvi. 19. « Isaiah xxiv. 7. 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 407 

for, says he, "Then will I turn to the people a pure language, that 
they may all call upon the name of the Lord with one consent/' 1 
This must, indeed, be the Lord's doing, for who among men has the 
wisdom, knowledge, and power to bring the nations to speak intelligi- 
bly on religious subjects, and to be of one religion ! The sword only 
can prepare the way for this. Mankind must be made to " lick the 
dust like a serpent," before they will consent to change their creeds 
for eternal truth. Judgment will bring them to reason, and they will 
say at length, " Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to 
the temple of the God of Jacob ; and He will teach us of his ways, 
and we will walk in his paths : for out of Zion shall go forth the 
law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." 2 Under such 
teaching as this the work will be accomplished. 

As to Israel, the Lord will have gotten them praise and fame in 
every land where they have been put to shame ; and have made them 
a name and a praise among all the people of the earth. 3 " All nations 
shall call them blessed, for they shall be a delightsome land, saith the 
Lord of hosts." 4 Instead of being a bye-word and a reproach, as at 
this day, the Gentiles will glory in their patronage ; for " in those 
days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all 
languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him 
that is a Jew, saying, we will go with you ; for we have heard that 
God is with you." 5 Yes, the kingdom and throne of David will 
then be in their midst again, and Christ the Lord God, and Holy 
One of Israel, sitting upon it in power and great glory. The gospel 
of the kingdom will be no longer a matter of hope, but a reality ; 
and those who have believed it, and submitted cheerfully and lovingly 
to the law of faith in the obedience it requires, and have perfected their 
faith by works meet for repentance, will be shining " as the bright- 
ness of the firmament, and as the stars for ever and ever." 6 This is 
the Hope of Israel which is set before men in the gospel, and for 
which Paul was bound in a chain. It is a very different one to that 
exhibited in pulpit-theology ; yet it is that which must be embraced 
as the soul's anchorage, if a man would be saved, and inherit the 
kingdom of God. 

Such will be the order of things for a thousand years. But, though 
truth and righteousness will have gained the ascendancy and have 
prevailed for so long a period, sin will still exist in the flesh, and in 
some instances reveal itself in overt acts of disobedience. This is 
implied by the sayings " the sinner shall die accursed f*l and " whoso 
will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to 
worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, even upon them shall be no 
rain." 8 There will be no occasion to march an army into a country 
to put down rebellion ; it will be quite effectual to bring it back to 
its allegiance to withhold from it the truits of the earth. This spirit of 
insubordination will, however, smoulder among the nations until at 
the end of the thousand years the " enmity " against the Woman's 
Seed burst forth again into a flame. If the apostle felt the workings 

SSeyh. iii. f. 2 Isaiah ii. 3. 3 Zeph. iii. 19, 20. * Mai. iii. 12. * Zech. viii. 23. 6 Dan. xii, 3. 
' Isaiah lxv. 20. * Zech. xir. 16—19. 



408 THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD 

of " the law of sin " within him, though obedient to " the law of the 
spirit of life ;" need we wonder that the same " law of nature " 
should gather force in the hearts, of nations subdued by fire and 
sword to the sovereignty of Israel's King. Man, unrenewed man, is 
essentially ungrateful and rebellious. The whole history of his race 
attests it. A thousand years of peace and blessedness will fail to 
bind him, by the bonds of love and a willing fealty, to the glorious 
and benevolent, yet just and powerful, emancipator and enlightener 
of the world. Some new demon, who would rather reign as Satan 
than serve in heaven, will arise among the nations, and unfurl the 
old satanic standard of the Dragon empire, which will be known to 
the generation of that remote future as the past existence of the 
Assyrian, Persian, Macedonian, and Roman empires are known to 
us ; that is, historically. A giant will this rebel be in presumption 
and crime, and surpassing in hardihood the pre-millennial Autocrat, 
whom Michael bound with a great chain and cast into the abyss. 
But what will not a man adventure inspired with the pride of life ! 
Enchanted thus, he becomes the Adversary (Satan) of the King of 
Glory ; and goes forth to the remotest nations, to Gogue's Magogian 
people, and falsely accuses his administration, by which means he 
succeeds in detaching them from their allegiance, and in deceinncj 
them into a vain attempt to recover their ancient dominion. 1 The 
King, instead of nipping the insurrection in the bud, permits his 
Adversary and Accuser (the Satan and the Devil) to mature his 
plans, marshal his hosts, and lead them on to an invasion of the land 
of Israel. The King permits him to come up on " the breadth of the 
land," and to " compass the camp of the saints about, and the beloved 
city." Having inclosed the Governor of the world and his ancients 
in the metropolis, and so hemmed them in as to prevent all escape, 
with no army in the rear to raise the siege, the sceptre of universal 
dominion would seem once more to be within the grasp of the Head 
of the old Serpent empire. Like our contemporaries, professing to 
believe the past, but denying that its scenes will ever be repeated, he 
remembers the overthrow of the former Gogue, as the Autocrat of 
Russia now remembers that of Sennacherib in the days of Hezekiah, 
but believes not in the repetition of so terrible a destruction. He will 
know, doubtless, and who after that the knowledge of the Lord shall 
have covered the earth for a thousand years will not know, that " he 
must reign till he have put all enemies under his feet ?" but he will 
no more believe that it will be so, than the Old Serpent, the founder 
of his dominion, believed that God would subject Adam to death in 
the day of his transgression though he had declared it. He will 
persuade the nations that the King of Israel shall not reign for ever, 
and that the overthrow of his government is possible. Thus 
deceived, we find them enrolled under Satan, or the Adversary, and 
" encompassing the camp of the saints, and the beloved city," full 
of savage exultation at the expected destruction of the best of kings. 
But fallacious will be the hopes of the rebel multitude, and dreadfu 
the vengeance to burst upon them. The trembling earth and the 

' Jter.XB.7— 15. 



IN THEIR RELATION TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 409 

blackening heavens warn them of a coming tempest. The dark 
vapors and ihick clouds of the sky, curling in dense and lowering 
masses, suddenly hiss forth the forked lightning, and the heaven is 
rent by the deafening roar of the voice of God. Hail and fire, 
mingled with hail, pour down upon them, and they are destroyed 
from the face of the land. Thus God will deliver his King ; for 
" fire shall come down from God out of heaven, and devour 
them." 

Thus, though corruption of the flesh, nationally expressed, was 
restrained by the overthrow of Gogue, the Dragon-chief, at the pre- 
millennial advent of the King of Israel, it is finally subdued only 
when the head of the Serpent-power is crushed at the end of the 
thousand years. After this victory, another enemy remains to be 
destroyed to perfect the work of the Son of Man. Death is the last 
enemy. The power of death is the corruption of the flesh, which is 
the consequence of sin. But, the wicked all being destroyed by fire, 
there remain upon the earth only the faithful and true, who are 
rewarded for their fidelity with the inheritance of the ages. The 
" law of sin/' or law of their flesh, is abolished in the change they 
undergo from corruption to incorruptibility and life. This is the 
abolishing of death from the earth, so that its inhabitants can die no 
more. This being brought to pass, the saying will be fulfilled, and 
the work accomplished, that " the Son of God was manifested that 
he might destroy the works of the Devil;" and " him that hath the 
power of death, that is the Devil." 

Such is " the end, when the Son shall deliver up the Kingdom to 
the Father that God may be all and in all." 1 The separation 
between God and Man began with the transgression of the first 
Adam; it continues till the end of the 7000 years, when sin and 
death are utterly eradicated, and harmony again established in this 
orb of his glorious universe. Earth will have been delivered from 
moral and physical evil by his power administered and displayed 
through the Lord Jesus Christ, who, though " subjected to the 
Father," will have the pre-eminence over all "his brethren" through the 
endless duration of ages. The second resurrection, which is implied 
by the appointment of a "first]'- will bring up from the dust the 
sleeping dead of the previous thousand years. Those who are 
accounted worthy of eternal life will receive it, and be added to the 
saints of the first resurrection. Thus a population will have been 
provided for the earth, which, instead of being destroyed, will be 
renovated, and all things belonging to it made new. 3 The earth and 
its inhabitants will be incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading. God, 
according to his word, will have made " a full end of all nations," 
except that of Israel ; which will be the sole occupant of the globe, 
and every Israelite, "an Israelite indeed," " equal to the Elohim," and 
crowned with glory and honor throughout all ages. During the 
thousand years their nation will consist of three classes, Christ and the 
saints, righteous Israelites in the flesh, and those who "die accursed;" 
but when perfection comes, there will be but one class, and all will 

' 1 Cor. xv, 24— 28 ; Rev. xxi. 8. '•' Rev. xx. 6. 3 Rev. xxi. 5. 



410 



CHRONOLOGY FROM THE CREATION 



be immortal. The purpose of God, in the formation of the earth, 
will be accomplished; and " the headstone of the creation will be 
brought forth with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it." 



CHRONOLOGY TO THE END OF THE MELCHIZEDEK KINGDOM. 

Continued from page 274. 



From the formation of Adam on the sixth 
day to Noah's flood 

From the flood to the confirmation of the 
Covenant 

From the confirmation to the night of the 
Exodus from Egypt 

Sojourn in the wilderness 

From the invasion of Canaan to Samuel the 
prophet 

To the foundation of the Temple in the 4th 
of Solomon 

To the apostacy of Israel in the 4th of Re- 
hoboam, answering to the 40 days of 
Ezekiel 

The rest of the reign of Rehoboam, who dies 
aged 58 

Abijah reigns 

Asa 

Jehoshaphat 

Jehoram 

Jehoahaz alias Ahaziah 

Queen Athaiiah regent 

Joash 

Amaziah 

Uzziah alias Azariah 

Jotham 

Ahaz 

Hezekiah makes proclamation through all 
the land, and invites the people to come 
up to Jerusalem and keep the Passover ; 
but the Ten Tribes laugh his letters to 
scorn; it is kept the 14th of the second 
month ; and the images, groves, high 
places, and altars destroyed. Samaria 
is taken after a three years' siege, and 
the Ten Tribes carried away into Assyria 
by Shalmaneser, Hezekiah having reigned 

Rest of Hezekiah's reign 

Manasseh reigns 

Amon 

Josiah 

Jehoahaz deposed by Necho, 

having reigned 3 months 

Jehoiakim alias Eliakim, brother to Je- 
hoahaz, and son of Josiah, set up by 
Necho, Nebuchadnezzar begins to reign 
in the 4th of Jehoiakim, which begins the 
70 years' servitude of the nations to 
Babylon 

Jehoiakim subjected to Nebuchadnezzar, 
against whom he rebelled after 

Daniel was taken to Babylon in the 4th of 
Jehoiakim 



1656 

377 

430 
40 

480 

82 

40 



Ezek. iv. 1—8. 

2 Chron. xii. 13. 

— xiii. 2. 

— xvi. 13. 

— xx. 31. 

— xxi. 5. 

— xxii. 2. 

— xxii. 12. 

— xxiv. I . 

— xxv. 1. 

— xxvi. 3. 

— xxvii. 8. 

— xxviii. 1. 



2 Kings xviii. 9, 10. 
2 Chron. xxix. 1. 

— xxxiii 1. 

— xxxiii. 2i. 

— xxxv. 23. 

— xxxvi. 1 — 4. 



Jer. xxv. 1,11; xxvii. 7. 
2 Kings xxiv. 1. 
Dan. i. 1. 



TO THE END OF THE MELCH1ZEDEK KINGDOM, 



411 



Jehoiakim continues independent till he dies, 

after 

Jehoiachin succeeds him, and is deposed by 
Nebuchadnezzar, who carries him and his 
family, and princes, among whom is Eze- 
kiel, captives to Babylon, after a reign 

of . . 3 months and 10 days 

This was the 8th year of Nebuchadnezzar's 
reign. Five years after Ezekiel began to 
see the visions of God— that is, in the 5th 
of Jehoiachin's captivity, which was the 

30th year from Josiah's passover 

Zedekiah alias Mattaniah, reigns till the 18th 

of Nebuchadnezzar, being 

Temple burned in the 19th of Nebuchadnezzar 
In the 23rd of Nebuchadnezzar, 745 persons 

are carried to Babylon as captives 

Whole number of years from the 4th of 
Rehoboam to the burning of the Temple 
in the lQth of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, 
answering to the 390 days of Ezekiel . . 
Nebuchadnezzar dies, and is succeeded by 
Evil-Merodach, in the 37th of Jehoiachin's 

captivity, having reigned 44 years 

"The very time of the King of Babylon's 
land," or 70 years allotted for his ascend- 
ancy over the nations, terminates with the 
death of Belshatzar; hence, the reigns of 
Evil-Merodach and Belshatzar must have 

occupied 

Darius the Mede and Cyrus the Persian 

reign conjointly during 

The " third of Cyrus" is the first of his sole 

reign 

The land of Israel enjoys its sabbaths 70 
years, ending the first of the Medo-Per- 

sia/i kingdom 

Cyrus the Persian reigns after the death of 

Darius the Jlede 

Cambyses, son of Cyrus, the Ahasuerus of 

the scriptures, reigns 6 months and 

Smerdis the Magian reigns 7 monihs 

The 70 years' indignation against Jerusalem 
and the cities of J udah, beginning at the 
19th of Nebuchadnezzar, end in the '2nd 

of Darius the Persian 

Whole number of years from the burning 
of the Temple to Darius' edict, in the 
second of his reign, enforcing that of 

Cyrus for its rebuilding 

The temple is finished in the 6th of 
Darius, being 70 years from the 23rd of 

Nebuchadnezzar 

Darius reigns after issuing his decree 

Xerxes, the fourth king of Persia after 
Cyrus, who '* by his strength, through his 
riches, stirs up all against the realm of 

Grecia, reigns 

Artaxerxes reigns 7 years, and issues a de- 
eite for the restoration of the common- 
wealth of Judah 



25 



26 



34 



12 



2 Kings xxiii. 30. 



— xxiv. 8, 12. 



Ezek.i. 1,2; 2 Cliron 

xxxiv. 8. 
2 Kings xxiv. 18. 
Jer. lii. <*0. 



Ezek. iv. 1—8. 
2 Kings xxv. 27 



70 



Dan. i. 21 ; x. 1. 

2 Chron. xxxvi. 21,22 



Zech. i. 12 ; vii. 5. 

Ezra vi. 1—12. 
— vi. 15. 

Dan. xi. 2. 

Ezra vii. 7, 11—28. 



412 



CHRONOLOGY FROM THE CREATION 



Artaxerxes makes a second decree for 
building the walls and gates, and restor- 
ing the city, in the 20th of his reign, 
termed by Daniel ''the restoring and 
building of Jerusalem." The Sevrnty Weeks 
begin at this date, and terminate in 490 
years at the Crucifixion 

Rest of the reign of Artaxerxes from the 
going forth of the second decree 

Xerxes II, and after him Sogdianus, reigned 
only 8 months 

Darius Nothus 

Artaxerxes Mnemon 

Artaxerxes Ochus 

Arses 

Darius Codomannus, the last king of the 
Silver empire 

Whole number of years from the death of 
Belshatzar, 20b" and 9 months. 

Alexander the Great of Macedon, the Not- 
able Horn of the Goat, reigns over the 
brazen empire, and dies at Babylon after 
eight years 

to the Mva. of the Seleucidee, styled in Mac- 
cabees " the iEra of the Greeks" 

Seleucus Nicator reigns from this sera .... 

A ntiochus Soter 

Antiochus Theos 

Seleucus Callinicus 

Seleucus Ceraunus 

Antiochus the Great 

Seleucus Philopator 

A ntiochus Epiphanes, having reigned nine 
years, Judas Maccabseus is appointed by 
Mattathias to the government of Judea, 
now in full insurrection against Antiochus. 
The i£ra of the Asmoneans commences 
here 

Antiochus having reigned eleven, dies two 
years after Judas' appointment, a most 
miserable death 

Antiochus Eupator 

Demetrius Soter having reigned three years, 
Judas Maccabseus falls in battle 429 years 
from the burning of the Temple by the 
Chaldeans. The Roman Senate inter- 
poses, and procures a respite for the Jews, 
which ensues next year 

Demetrius Soter dies, having reigned twelve 
years 

Alexander Bala 

Demetrius Micator to his assassination .... 

Alexander Zebina, Cleopatra, and Seleucus V 

A ntiochus Grypus 

Seleucus 

A ntiochus Eusebes 

Antiochus Asiaticus, the last king of the nor- 
thern thigh of brass, in the 4th of Aristo- 
bulus II, Kinj/ of Judea, dethroned by 
Pompej 

Aristobulus II, having I'eigned six years, dies 



66 



Neh.ii. 1,5, 17. 



Ezek. iv. 1—8. 



TO THE EN'D OF THE MELCHIZEDEK KINGDOM. 



4i3 



i Hyrcanus II, King oi'Judea, reigns 

A ntigonus 

Herod the Idumean having reigned thirty- 
seven years, Jesus Christ is born six 

months after John the Baptist 

Whole number of years from the burning 
of the Temple in the 19/7i of Nebuchad- 
nezzar 589 years and 9 months; and 
from the 20th of Artaxerxes 454 years 
and 9 months. 
Whole number of years from the formation 
of Adam to the birth of Christ, 4086 years 
and 9 months. 
Herod causes the children in Bethlehem of 
" two years old and under" to be slain, 
in hope of destroying Jesus with them. 
Herod dies, having reigned about 40 years, 
and is succeeded by his son Archelaus . . 

John the Baptist commences his proclama- 
tion 483 years 1'rom 20th of Artaxerxes, 
being 28 years and 9 months, and Jesus 
28 and 3 months, old. 

In 1 year and 9 months after, " Jesus him- 
self began to be about 30 years of age, 
when he was manifested to Israel by bap- 
tism in the Jordan 

In 1 year and 9 months after, John is shut 
up in prison by Herod the tetrarch. 
Jesus then, being 31 years and 9 months, 
enters upon his ministry alone, which he 
finishes in 3 years and 6 months, having 
attained the age of 3 months and 

Thus, 454 years and 9 months added to 35 
years and 3 months, produce the whole 
number of years. required by the Seventy 
Weeks from the 20th of Artaxerxes, 
namely 

End of the 2300 years in the true A.D. 
1846, or common A.D. 1841,and 7 months. 

End of the 1335 years in the true A.D. 
1868, equal to the common A. D. 18G3, 
and 7 months being 

Time of the building up of David's kingdom 
ending in the second exodus from Kgypt, 
being a period of forty years 

Building of the Ezekiel -temple in the 4th 
year of Christ's reign over the re-united 
kingdom of David after the type of Solo- 
mon, the world being 5998 years old .... 

Christ and the Saints rule the nations 10U0 
years 

" Satan loosed out of his prison a little 
season " 

Whole number of years from the Creation to 
the delivering up the kingdom to God 
that He may be all and in all 



37 



True Anno Domint. 
Luke i. 26. Matt. ii. 1. 



Matt, ii, 16-22. 



35 



490 



1810 



99G 



'000 



Luke hi. 23. 



V T ulg. Era 31 yrs. 7m. 



1 Cor. xv. 24-28. 




H 152 82 



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